The CONSUR [Confederación Sudamericana de Rugby] Cross Border tournament got underway last weekend with Uruguay kicking off their 2008 campaign with a 32-7 victory over Argentinean province Entre Rios in Montevideo.
The IRB-assisted Tournament, which brings together the Uruguay national side and three provincial teams from Argentina in Entre Rios, Rosario and Santa Fe, has been introduced to create an expanded calendar for Uruguay and also provide locally-based players in Argentina a new level of competition.
“The main objective of this exciting new tournament is to provide Uruguay, as a Performance Union, with a defined competitive tournament structure that raises performance and acts as a developmental pathway for Uruguay ahead of the IRB Nations Cup in June,” said IRB Head of Rugby Services Mark Egan.
“The Tournament builds on the back of the Chile tournament which made its debut last year and will provide Argentinean provinces with an increased competition schedule that will allow their players to test themselves at a higher level when playing the Uruguay Test side.”
Six tries for Uruguay
In hot and humid conditions after heavy overnight rain in Montevideo, Uruguay wasted little time in getting into their stride against a strong Entre Rios team, taking advantage of a powerful set piece platform to score three first half tries through Dugongic, Alvarez and Inns.
Their domination continued after the break with Peyrou grabbing the first of his two tries in the 48th minute, before Boero’s try gave Entre Rios hope midway through the half. The comeback was to be short lived though as Uruguay hit back with tries from Peyrou and Poasadas to seal victory.
The weekend’s other result saw Santa Fe produce a surprise by defeating a much-fancied Rosario side 34-10 in Santa Fe. The results mean that after one round of the Cross Border Tournament Uruguay tops the standings from Santa Fe.
Round two will take place on Saturday with Uruguay playing host to Santa Fe in the top of the table meeting in Montevideo, while Entre Rios travel to Rosario for the all-Argentine province encounter.
