Brazil will be represented by the Cobras franchise in the 3rd edition of the American Rugby Super League (SLAR). The tournament, confirmed by Sudamérica Rugby, will be played between March 13 and May 28. The matches will have five venues (Montevideo [Uruguai]Santiago and Valparaiso [Chile]Ciudad del Este and Asuncion [Paraguai]).
The national team, managed by the Brazilian Rugby Confederation (CBRu), will face current champions Jaguares XV (Argentina), finalist Peñarol Rugby (Uruguay), Selknam (Chile), Olimpia Lions (Paraguay) and Cafeteros Pro (Colombia). In 2021, Cobras finished fifth in the competition, with two wins over Colombian Cafeteros Pro and a win over Chilean Selknam.
According to Cobras Brasil XV coach Fernando Portugal, the team already has a defined strategy: “We insist on the strategy of mixing experience with players revealed in the Americas Pacific Challenge, in club and regional team tournaments and in Curumins, the base division of the Brazilian Team. We also added the experience of two foreign players who have never played in Brazil. This balance allows the coaching staff to give opportunities to younger players and keep the team competitive to face high-level opponents that were reinforced especially with Argentine players”.
The foreign athletes who will reinforce the green and yellow team are the Argentinian pillar Mariano Ezequiel Filomeno and the Frenchman Simon Bienvenu.
The Brazilian debut will be against Peñarol, at Elias Figueroa stadium.
