Peñarol won their third Super Rugby Americas title in four years but were made to work for their victory by 2024 champions, Dogos.
The final was also broadcast live in the UK for the first time, on RugbyPass, and is still available to watch.
Match Action
The Uruguayan hosts started brightly and took an early lead when winger Bautista Basso stepped off his right foot to power through the would-be Dogos defenders.
Fly-half Felipe Etcheverry nailed the conversion from out wide. Dogos went into the game without influential captain Valentin Cabral and it showed, as the Argentine side seemed unable to get a foothold in the game.
With a little over 15 minutes played, Peñarol struck again when Basso grabbed his second try after a flowing multi-phase attack from the hosts.
Etcheverry’s conversion was just as well struck as his first and extended the lead to 14 points.
Dogos finally got themselves on the board through a Juan Baronio penalty but it proved to be a brief reprieve as they were immediately put on the back foot once again.
Peñarol centre Bautista Farise ran a superb line to pierce the Dogos defence and looked like he might go all the way himself, only to be dragged down inches short of the line.
Fortunately for Farise, his teammate Santiago Civetta was on hand to finish the job and the game looked to be slipping away from Dogos before the break.
Dogos head coach Nico Galatro would have been encouraged by his side’s end to the half, in which they finally looked like the side that beat Pampas in last week’s semifinal.
One of the team’s key players, Leonardo Gea Salim, timed his run to perfection to breach the home side’s defence just before halftime, although Baronio couldn’t add the conversion, meaning they still trailed 21-8 and had it all to do in the second half.
Second Half
If Galatro was hoping that try meant the tide was turning, he was sorely mistaken as Peñarol began the second half in the ascendency.
Captain Manuel Diana powered over for a try that he more than deserved after a tireless first half. Etcheverry once again added the conversion in what was becoming a vintage display for the fly half.
Diana was involved again minutes later when he broke through the defence and put scrum half Santiago Alvarez away for Peñarol’s fifth try.
Etcheverry’s conversion meant the scoreline read 35-8 after 50 minutes in what can only be described as a dream performance for a regular-season game, let alone a final.
Perhaps sensing that they had to throw caution to the wind, Dogos upped the intensity and came close to a remarkable comeback.
Scrum half Agustin Moyano, who could well find himself facing off against the Lions on Friday, took a quick penalty and managed to find the line on the hour mark.
Things were still looking relatively comfortable for the hosts heading into the last 10 minutes, with the 35-13 scoreline offering plenty of protection.
Two tries in quick succession from Ignacio Jose Gandini and Juan Ignacio Greising Revol changed that, and the crowd senses it.
The victory, which had seemed all but certain just minutes before, was now in real jeopardy.
Replacement scrum half Fabricio Zaradnik did manage one final score for Dogos but the clock was already in the red and the comeback fell short by the smallest of margins.
Peñarol held on for a remarkable 35-34 victory, which means their three wins over Dogos this season came by a total of just four points.
Five of the Dogos side have been selected for the Argentina squad to face the Lions in Dublin. The majority of Peñarol’s squad will now rest up before vital World Cup qualifiers begin in July.
By Joe Santamaria
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