By Joe Santamaria
In round six of the 2026 Super Rugby Americas, Tarucas flexed their attacking muscles in their 52-22 victory over visiting Cobras in Tucumán.
The home side’s dominant scrum gave them plenty of front-foot ball to play with and they quickly struck through Juan Pablo Pfister after he was put into space by his captain Matías Orlando.
Cobras stayed in the fight for much of the first half and managed to narrow the deficit after 20 minutes through a well-struck Julián Leszczynski penalty.
Eventually, though, the relentless Tarucas attacks began to take their toll, and second row Ignacio Marquieguez powered through a weak tackle to score his team’s second try with half an hour played.
For fans following the tournament closely, you can keep up with every match in real time with rugby live scores.
For exclusive stories and all the detailed rugby news you need, subscribe to The Rugby Paper website, digital edition, or newspaper from as little as 14p a day.
Tarucas’ attacking power overwhelms Cobras
Tarucas’ third score was the best of the half; centre Bautista Estofa finished off a superb individual effort after breaking through the midfield before handing off the last defender and showing great pace to reach the line.
Cobras had fought bravely, but struggled to get points on the board, and Tarucas were good value for their 21-3 halftime lead.
If Estofa’s try was all about individual talent, Tarucas’ bonus point score was down to brilliant cohesion and communication.
Scrum-half Matías Sauze combined brilliantly with winger Tomás Vanni, who ran a disguised trailing line straight through the heart of the defence and had the calmness to put Facundo Cardozo in for an excellent score.
Cobras managed to strike back and crossed the whitewash themselves soon after through hooker Santiago Bonavento, who piled over the line after a powerful rolling maul.
The game really began to open up at this stage and Tarucas took advantage through Juan Pablo Pfister, whose second try of the game was a muscular effort as the winger bounced off the would-be tacklers.
Few Tarucas players have been as crucial to their strong season-to-date than Thiago Sbrocco, who was superb again on Friday night.
Title credentials
The rampaging backrower also grabbed a memorable try for himself as he broke the line and chipped over the last defender, only for teammate Ignacio Cerrutti to dot down in his place.
With less than ten minutes to play, Pedro Coll added another try for the hosts after gathering a clever grubber behind the Cobras defence.
With the game long gone, Cobras managed a couple of late consolations. Replacement Gustavo Gobeti reacted fastest to a loose ball to charge through a gap and make it to the line, before Rosko Specman added a third after hacking the ball through and outrunning his rivals to reach the line first.
With just one defeat in the first six rounds, Tarucas reinforced their title credentials, but it was the manner of the victory that will be most pleasing to the home fans.
Having already demonstrated their power up front, Friday’s win offered a glimpse of their more creative attacking threats, albeit against the tournament’s most porous defence.
Cobras’ two late tries made the game appear closer than it had been, as they were thoroughly outplayed on the night.
They are clearly a better side than last season’s winless outfit, but are yet to truly show they can compete with the league’s top sides.
Peñarol grind it out in Montevideo
Peñarol had to dig deep in atrocious conditions but managed to grind out a 25-24 win over Yacare in Montevideo.
The visitors remain winless but came within two points of their opponents for the fourth time in just six matches.
With the rain hammering down, expansive play was at a premium and the first half was dominated by kicking.
Yacare fly-half Joaquín Lamas put his side 6-0 up after 15 minutes through two penalties before opposite number Justo Ferrario hit back with one of his own.
Yacare will be disappointed at the manner of Peñarol’s first try, after they appeared to shunt the home side back at the scrum, only for scrum-half Alejandro Molinas to throw a dummy and slip through a hole to give his side the lead.
The two fly-halves exchanged another penalty apiece to ensure the home side led 13-9 at the break.
Greasy conditions
Yacare started the second half on the front foot and managed to reclaim the lead after just five minutes.
A dominant scrum close to the Peñarol line allowed centre Francisco Gaspes to run a superb hard line and breach the home defence.
eñarol snatched back the lead almost as fast as they had lost it through Joaquín Myszka, who just managed to reach the line after a maul looked to have been stopped short.
With so many of last year’s title-winning team missing from this year’s roster, Peñarol had to rely on their talismans and Manuel Ardao delivered with his best performance since returning from the MLR.
The backrower tried an audacious grubber in behind the defence and, when the covering defender failed to gather the ball in greasy conditions, Ardao was on hand to gather and slide over the line.
Another Lamas penalty kept Yacare within touching distance, but it was clear they would need something special if they were to find the try they would need.
Inevitably, Lamas was the man to find it when his perfectly weighted kick was gathered by winger Juan González, who scored in the corner.
Yacare still searching for their first win
Cruelly, after creating the try out of nothing, Lamas missed the conversion that would have put his team ahead with seven minutes to play.
Try as they might, Yacare couldn’t find the score that would have given them the elusive win they have been looking for.
Three wins from six is hardly the kind of start defending champions look for, but this is a much-changed Peñarol roster who can take comfort in their current position.
The playoffs are within reach, their younger players are beginning to bed into the league, and Ardao’s performance reminded everyone that he is arguably the league’s best player when in form.
For Yacare, the story is infuriatingly similar. They are rarely out of the game, but can’t quite seem to get over the line.
There is some comfort to be taken from the fact that their six losing bonus points have lifted them off the bottom of the table, despite being the only side yet to win this season.
For fans interested in football as well, you can follow live football scores and keep up with every moment as the action unfolds.
Pampas fight back to stun Selknam
The weekend’s best viewing was to be found in Santiago, where visitors Pampas had to come from behind to snatch a 34-31 victory over Selknam.
At one stage, the hosts led 24-7 and will be devastated they couldn’t secure a win over one of the league’s top sides.
Pampas drew first blood after Selknam failed to deal with a box kick, allowing number 8 Bautista Bernasconi to kick the ball on and dive over the line with seven minutes played.
Selknam head coach Jake Mangin will be delighted at his team’s response, as they levelled the scores almost immediately with a brilliant team try.
The Chileans lead the league in offloads this season and centre Matías Garafulic added another under pressure to set Luca Strabucchi away.
The ball eventually made its way into the hands of Domingo Saavedra, who finished off the highlight-reel-worthy score under the posts.
Early momentum
The hosts sensed they had momentum and soon added a second score through flanker Alfonso Escobar, who managed to steer a maul all the way to the line despite coming under pressure from a determined Pampas pack.
Garafulic added a penalty soon after as the home crowd began to believe their side could topple title-favourites Pampas.
That belief was only reinforced when Selknam’s maul handed them another try, this time finished off by Augusto Böhme.
Trailing by 17 points with less than half an hour played, Pampas needed to stop the rot and managed it through Bernasconi.
This time, it was the Argentine side who benefitted from a powerful rolling maul, much to the delight of head coach Juan Manuel Leguizamón.
Selknam would have dearly loved to make it to halftime with a double-digit lead, but it wasn’t to be.
Much has been made of Pampas’ high-class back three combination and all three were involved in their third try.
Pampas dominate possession
Fullback Tobías Wade burst through a gap in the Selknam defence before the ball found its way to experienced international Santiago Cordero, who in turn, offloaded to fellow Puma Santiago Pernas, with the winger showing great pace and power to reach the line amidst a flurry of defenders.
Selknam’s 24-19 halftime lead looked more slender than ever.
Pampas dominated both possession and territory in the second half but found themselves up against a Selknam side that refused to roll over.
It took fourteen minutes of consistent attack before Pampas took the lead through Cordero, who dived over out wide after quick hands in the build-up.
Just six minutes later, Selknam hit back after a rare foray into the Pampas half.
A rolling maul was dragged down inches short of the line and, as the referee prepared to blow his whistle, the ball popped out and allowed scrum-half Marcelo Torrealba to dot down unopposed.
Pampas were straight back onto the attack, punishing Selknam with constant carries and winning penalties at virtually every scrum.
Eventually, the hosts simply ran out of numbers in defence, allowing Pampas centre Agustín Fraga to score out wide.
Match winner Farisé
A perfectly struck Bautista Farisé conversion levelled the scores at 31-31 with 15 minutes to play.
It was Farisé who would prove the match winner ten minutes later, when his penalty sailed home to seal a narrow win that put his team back at the top of the table.
Having brought back some of his frontline starters after rotating against Cobras, Leguizamón will be pleased at how they managed to wrestle back control of a game that looked to be slipping away from Pampas.
With five wins from their first six games, his side have scored more points than any other team so far and look well placed to challenge for their maiden title come the end of the season.
For Selknam, this was arguably their best performance of an inconsistent season so far, albeit one that ended in defeat.
For 20 minutes, they looked unplayable and Pampas could hardly live with them.
They will need to show that level for more than just flashes if they are to be in title contention in June.
Dogos hold off Capibaras comeback
Dogos survived a late Capibaras comeback to triumph 29-24 in Córdoba.
Capibaras centre Bruno Heit struck first with a long-range penalty, but the visiting side soon found themselves on the back foot.
Dogos hooker Juan Greising Revol continued his excellent season to date with yet another try from the back of a rolling maul to give the hosts the lead after 12 minutes.
With the Dogos pack in the ascendancy, a Julián Hernández penalty extended the hosts’ lead with half an hour played and the fly-half was soon involved again.
He broke through the Capibaras defence and surged into the opponents’ half.
The visitors were unable to recover from the incursion, allowing Dogos centre Facundo Pueyrredón to cut through a disorganised defensive line to score.
Dogos looked good value for their 15-3 lead at the break, having controlled proceedings for much of the half.
Late comeback
Neither side were able to register a score for the first 16 minutes of the second half, with both teams sensing how pivotal that score could be to the result.
Eventually, though, Capibaras gave away the ball cheaply at a lineout, and Dogos seized on the opportunity to counter.
Having put the ball through the hands, winger Luciano Avaca managed to power through a weak tackle and score his team’s third try in the corner.
The game appeared to be petering out until replacement Capibaras prop Ignacio Palillo managed to force his way over the line from close range.
With 15 minutes left to play, the comeback still looked unlikely, but Capibaras were able to strike again in the 73rd minute through Ignacio Dogliani.
The fly-half spotted a Dogos defender slow to get back into the line and charged in his direction, showing enough power to get over the line and reduce the deficit.
Kill the contest
Having seen their lead shrink to just five points, Dogos managed to rally themselves and were able to kill the contest with a superb try.
Winger Mateo Soler ran a brilliantly disguised inside line and was expertly found by Argentina international Faustino Sanchez Valarolo.
Soler had the pace to make it to the try line, securing the bonus point for good measure.
With the clock in the red, Capibaras captain Ignacio Gandini capped an industrious individual display with a try after taking a penalty quickly.
The late score meant the visitors left with a bonus point that looked unlikely for much of the game.
Dogos impress
Dogos continue to impress this season and have managed to maintain their status as one of the league’s top sides despite losing a number of players since last season.
They will be wary of how they managed to let Capibaras back into a game that looked to be already won, but the tight scoreline should not mask the fact that the hosts were much the better side on the night.
Capibaras head coach Nicolás Galatro would have dearly loved a win on his return to Córdoba, but will be pleased his side showed plenty of fight and quality in the closing stages.
The franchise is still only six matches old, but will need to improve if they are to hold on to a playoff position for the rest of the season.
Round Seven sees Peñarol make the short journey across the Río de la Plata to face Pampas in Buenos Aires before Yacare host Dogos.
Selknam will be looking for victory when they head to São Paulo to play Cobras before Capibaras host Tarucas in an all-Argentine clash to close out the round.
READ MORE: 2026 Super Rugby Americas – Round Five summary: Dogos avenge Peñarol defeat as Selknam bounce back
You must be logged in to post a comment Login