The opening match for the Band-Sarries in Super 10 will be this Saturday (19) at 13h00 at PET (Parque Esportivo do Trabalhador) in São Paulo against Rio Branco
After the third place in the Paulista A 2014 Rugby Championship (SP State competition) ended ten days ago, the 1st XV Bandeirantes Saracens debut this Saturday (19) in the Super 10, the first division championship of Brazilian rugby XV, in a duel against another team form São Paulo, the Rio Branco, at 13:00h at PET field in Tatuapé – São Paulo. The team is not yet complete due to athletes who are still recovering from injuries suffered in the state championship.
The Super 10 is so named because it brings together the top ten teams in the country in 2013, the Band-Sarries was in fourth place behind the current champions SPAC, Pasteur and São José. For this season, the goal is to evolve and put the team at the final match of the tournament. It will its first Brazilian championship after the Bandeirantes partnership in December with Saracens FC (Sarries) of England, one of the most traditional Rugby clubs in Europe.
“The partnership is recent and the results are coming out. Already having an effect on our methods of work, but still to early to impact a lot in the pitch”, considers Gesner Martoni, a member of the Technical Committee. “We reached the semi-final in Paulista this year, but now we want a title shot”, the coach craves waiting strengthening the team with the return of Gabriel Paganini, who is in one month internship at Saracens FC in London. The internship is part of the shares in conjunction with the English club.
The Super 10 format will be played at all against all in one turn. The first four vying for semi-finals and final. This year, the championship will be even more selective because three teams will be relegated to the second division. The idea is to transform the Brazilian 2015 championship in Super 8. Latest duel between Band-Sarries and Rio Branco, the game of next Saturday, happened in the last round of the qualifying Paulista A 2014 matches, with a Bandeirantes Saracens win by 24-12.
For more information on the Super 10 tournament visit the official competition hotsite: rugbysuper10.com.br
Women in Field – The Super 7′s is the female national tournament at ‘seven-a-side’ format, in which eight teams compete in fixed six rounds with teams invited by the state federations or by CBRu (Brazilian Rugby Confederation). This year the hosts of each of the rounds are defined: Belo Horizonte, São José dos Campos, Curitiba, Rio de Janeiro, Florianópolis and Porto Alegre.
The championship is played for gathering more points on all rounds. During each round weekend, teams compete in five games of the qualifying round, semifinal and the final. In 2013, the Band-Sarries girls were in third place and as the example of men, this year’s goal is to reach the top. The opening round of the Super 7′s this weekend (19 and 20) will be in Belo Horizonte.
Original text in Portuguese by Ary Pereira Jr. (ZDL Comunicação): zdl.com.br, translation by Marcelo Bellório.