The national franchise managed to beat the Argentinians 16-10, in a game where their defense was their strong point and Francisco Urroz their great scoring weapon.
Selknam has exceeded its own limits. They beat Jaguares XV for the third time in this tournament and managed to reach the American Rugby Super League final for the first time in their history. They did it by beating the Argentinians 16-10, in another example of their defense, the great weapon they had this year. They will have to wait to see who will be their rival, Peñarol or Cafeteros Pro.
A disputed first half, fought and worked hard, worthy of the instance and the rivals. In fact, that was the big feature of the first part. Little rhythm and a lot of friction . Selknam struggled from the start of the scrum, trying to take control that had given them two wins over the Jaguares in the opening rounds. But now it has not come.
And despite the fact that the Chilean franchise started with the advantage thanks to the test of Benjamín Videla then the shot of the sticks of Francisco Urroz the feeling was that the game was not so simple. A misleading 10-0 and it quickly got shorter.
It was in the 23rd minute that Jaguares came back into the game. A great collective game would end with a fake from Martín Bogado, to close the gap. Again, it was the clubs that added points to the scoreboard. All tied at 10 and came the final fight.
With the equality on the scoreboard, tempers flared. Thus came the offenses and the pikes which increased the temperature more and more. Selknam committed penalties without stopping and Jaguares continuously lost the ball at the crossroads . So there was little gambling and many arrests. The refereeing body tried to contain, but the players did not help. They celebrated every penalty with elan, almost celebrating in the face of the rival.
In reality Selknam suffered two almost continuous yellow cards and had to play shorthanded throughout the final stretch of the first half . A situation that only changed a few minutes in the second half, because when they had 7 ‘of complement, another yellow fell again for the nationals.
But the Chileans resisted. They eliminated this defensive wall that they built throughout the tournament and did not allow the Argentines to take advantage of this advantage. They showed total desire to be able to reach their first SLAR final and they put themselves with authority against a trans-Andean team, great players, but who have many doubts.
And when Selknam had to step forward on the scoreboard, the sticks gave him joy. It was twice, first at 53′ and then with just five minutes left. Urroz was once again the scoring machine that brought so much joy to Selknam this year. He’s been virtually infallible when kicking. Today he scored the four times they needed him.
But the drama reached the last ball and with a lot of struggle and a final loss of the ball from the Argentines, inches from the Chilean in-goal, it ended up giving Selknam victory. The celebrations were moving . They have exceeded their own ceiling. They are finalists for the first time in their history.
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Source: Latercera
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
