The future looks bright for Argentinean rugby after a dominant performance at the South American Under 21 Championship on home soil in Posadas saw them retain the title on Saturday with an 85-5 defeat of Chile.
Argentina, coached by Ricardo Le Fort, Duncan Forrester and Raúl Pérez, had all but wrapped up the title before the final day, having already convincingly beaten Uruguay 77-8 and Paraguay 144-6 in their two previous matches.
Centre Benjamin Udrapilleta scored four of Argentina's 13 tries - one more than captain and number 8 Benjamin Macome managed - in the defeat of Chile, who scored their only points through a late try by replacement Humberto Chacaltana.
Udrapilleta had already scored four tries - three against Paraguay and the other in the match with Uruguay - for a side containing several players who were involved in the IRB Under 19 World Championship 2007 in Belfast back in April.
Uruguay, meanwhile, bounced back well from their opening loss to Argentina to finish as runners up in the four-team tournament, courtesy of a 43-0 defeat of Chile and 39-12 victory over Paraguay.
Chile had occupied that position behind Argentina in 2006, but this time they had to settle for third with only one victory - a 16-7 triumph over Paraguay on the opening match day - to return home to Santiago with.
Jamaica hold nerve for NAWIRA triumph
However the South American Under 21 Championship was not the only age grade event taking place over the last week with the Cayman Islands hosting the NAWIRA [North America West Indies Rugby Association] Under 19 2007 Tournament.
Six teams, including the host nation, were competing for the right to represent NAWIRA at the IRB Junior World Trophy in 2008 - part of a new competition at Under 20 level that replaces the IRB Under 19 and Under 21 World Championships.
Guyana finished top of Pool A after beating Barbados 19-11 and Trinidad & Tobago 31-12, pitching them into the final against the Pool B winners, which turned out to be Jamaica, albeit only on points differential after all three sides recorded one victory apiece.
The Cayman Islands beat tournament debutants Mexico 21-3 in the opening match, before Mexico bounced back to stun Jamaica with a narrow 3-0 victory. That left Jamaica needing to beat the hosts by at least 11 points, something they achieved with a 22-9 win.
The final proved a close affair with a penalty shootout needed to determine the winner, the sides having been locked at 14-14 when the whistle blew. In the end it was Jamaica who held their nerve, winning the shootout 4-1.
Third place overall went to the Cayman Islands with their 18-7 defeat of Barbados, while Trinidad & Tobago edged Mexico 12-6 in the fifth place playoff on Saturday.
