Seeking to continue growing their High Performance plans, and with objectives set for the qualifying process for Rugby World Cup 2027, the national teams of Paraguay, Brazil and Colombia will be joined by Chile XV to compete over three rounds in the Sudamericano 4 Naciones at the Héroes de Curupayty, in Asunción, Paraguay.
This tournament will help Chile coach Pablo Lemoine to come up with the last three players that are to be included in his Rugby World Cup 2023 roster – on Monday he named 30 of the 33 players.
With France 2023 being the first Rugby World Cup that will feature three South American teams, and as players seek to position themselves for the premier regional club competition, Super Rugby Americas 2024, the tournament is of great importance to the four participating teams.
Chile XV will join the three teams that participated in this tournament last year in Barranquilla, Colombia. Brazil became champions after defeating Colombia 52-13 and Paraguay narrowly 31-28.
“This South American 4 Nations to be played in our country is of huge importance for all Paraguayan rugby,” commented Mariano Garcete, one of the outstanding players for Yacare XV in Super Rugby Americas.
“We are going to compete against direct rivals in the region such as Colombia, Brazil and Chile XV. For us it is a source of pride and a very nice opportunity to play at home with the national team after many years.
“As a team, we have a very clear objective: to qualify for the World Cup in 2027.”
Paraguay has been working under the high performance system for approximately three years, and the growth in the number of competitions allows the country, and the rest of the region, to help continue developing as a team.
The main continental tournament, Super Rugby Americas, stands out.
“The work with Tupis (the national side) is a continuation of what we did during the first semester with Cobras Brasil XV,” adds Brazil coach Josh Reeves, whose team will defend the title won in Barranquilla in 2022.
“This Four Nations is another step towards the development of the region's emerging teams, stimulated by the growth of South American rugby, as evidenced by Argentina, Uruguay and Chile in France next month. We want to follow the same path and this tournament is part of that process.”
Colombia will seek to climb back, not having participated in the professional tournament earlier this year.
“The squad is good, we have been preparing for a long time in which the players have progressed in terms of technique and strategy,” said José Manuel Diosa, the Colombia coach.
"We hope this is reflected in Asunción."
Like the other teams, Colombia will have a young squad with several players under 20 years of age, "as we want to see the new era of Colombian rugby to whom we want to give international opportunities for what will come in the future".
All matches will be available on the South America Rugby YouTube channel.
The SAR 4 Nations 2023 tournament schedule is as follows (all times GMT-4):
Saturday, 19 August
15:30 Brazil v Chile XV
Referee: Adrián Bogado (Paraguay). Assistants: Federico Solari (Argentina) and Sergio Alvarenga (Paraguay). TMO: Marco Demestri (Paraguay)
20:00 Paraguay v Colombia
Referee: Nehuen Jauri Rivero (Argentina). Assistants: Juan Manuel López (Argentina) and Lucas Saccomanno (Brazil). TMO: Victor Silvero (Paraguay)
Wednesday, 23 August
15:30 Brazil v Colombia
Referee: Nehuen Jauri Rivero (Argentina). Assistants: Federico Solari (Argentina) and Adrián Bogado (Paraguay). TMO: Marco Demestri (Paraguay
20:00 Paraguay v Chile XV
Referee: Juan Manuel López (Argentina). Assistants: Lucas Saccomanno (Brazil) and María del Carmen Martínez (Paraguay). TMO: Victor Silvero (Paraguay)
Sunday, 27 August
15:30 Colombia v Chile XV
Referee: Gonzalo de Achával (Argentina). Assistants: Lucas Saccomanno (Brazil) and Sergio Alvarenga (Paraguay) TMO: Victor Silvero (Paraguay)
20:00 Paraguay v Brazil
Referee: Nehuen Jauri Rivero (Argentina). Assistants: Juan Manuel López (Argentina) and Adrián Bogado (Paraguay). TMO: Marco Demestri (Paraguay)