Paraguay had the unenviable position on 1 May 2002, of being beaten by Argentina A by 152–0.[1] In July of the same year, Japan beat Taiwan by an identical margin – 155–3, but unlike Paraguay, Taiwan scored some points in their match.[1]
In the past Paraguay was regularly the 4th team in South American rugby, behind Argentina, Uruguay and Chile. However, in the late 2000s, at both Junior and Senior Levels, Brazil came to compete with and beat Paraguay, relegating Paraguay to 5th place in South America.
Paraguay in South American Rugby
With the formation of the Unión de Rugby del Paraguay in 1970, the national team, Los Yacarés (the Alligators), first represented Paraguay in 1971.
In the Sudamericano (South American Championship) of 1971 they lost to Chile, Uruguay and Argentina by between 40 and 60 points, while losing a close game to Brazil, 12–6. This established the pattern which has continued ever since, with Paraguay lagging behind Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, and sharing 4th and 5th place in South America with Brazil.
In 1981, in the absence of Argentina, Paraguay finished 3rd in the Sudamericano.
In 1985 Paraguay drew 9 all with Uruguay, their only draw with Uruguay at senior level, and lost to Chile by only 3 points, 19–12. Despite the draw, Paraguay still finished in 4th place in the Sudamericano on points difference, due to a heavy loss to Argentina and Uruguay beating Chile.
In 1993 Paraguay managed to beat Chile 25–24 in Santiago for the first and only time at senior level, finishing 3rd in the Sudamericano.
Until 2003 Paraguay regularly played in the Sudamericano de Rugby A (the first division of the South American rugby championship). However, in 2003 they suffered huge losses, 144–0 to Argentina, 53–7 to Uruguay and 102–0 to Chile.
For 2004 Paraguay was replaced in the A by Venezuela, the B Champion from 2003 (who also suffered huge losses). Paraguay won the B championship in both 2004 and 2005, winning the decider against Brazil in 2005 by 45–8.
In 2006 and 2007 Paraguay did not play any test matches. They were too good for the Sudamericano B, but not strong enough to compete in the Sudamericano A.
Paraguay returned to international rugby in 2008 in the Sudamericano B played in Asuncion. The Championship also served as 2011 Rugby World Cup qualification. Both Paraguay and Brazil had strong wins against Colombia, Venezuela and Peru. Brazil won the championship decider 15–6, the first time they had beaten Paraguay since 1989. In doing so they also moved above Paraguay in the IRB World Rankings for the first time, a position they have maintained ever since.
Based on their similar results, CONSUR decided to promoted both Brazil and Paraguay to the Sudamericano A for 2009. In 2009 and 2010 Paraguay and Brazil lost to Chile and Uruguay in the Sudamericano A, and Brazil won the matches between the two countries 36–21 and 24–18.
In the 2011 Sudamericano A, Paraguay sent a very inexperienced team to the Championship, after infighting in the Union de Rugby del Paraguay saw the country's top 3 teams (who had formed the majority of players in the national team) withdrawing their players. The team suffered huge losses, 102–6 against Uruguay, 71–3 against Chile, and a record 51–14 against Brazil.
Paraguay was relegated to the Sudamericano B for 2012. In 2012 Paraguay won the Sudamericano B (which also served as a Rugby World Cup Qualifier) easily, with a combined score of 196 to 28, against Colombia, Venezuela and Peru.
Paraguay played further World Cup Qualifiers in late 2012, beating Bermuda 29–14 and losing to Brazil 35–22.
In 2013 Paraguay again won the Sudemaericano B, by a closer margin, beating Peru 22–0, Venezuela 48–7 and Colombia 25–15.
Paraguayan rugby continues to face the same problem, that it is generally not strong enough to compete with the other teams in the Sudamericano A, but is too strong for the teams in the Sudamericano B.
In Germany several Paraguayans have played in Bundesliga 1 including Juan Caba Cabañas, Fabio Franco, Willians Portillo and Oscar Merino.
In Spain Willians Portillo (Madrid), Javier Morinigo (San Cugat – Barcelona, ex-Albertong de Sudafrica), Igor Huerta (Universidad de Málaga), Jorge Ocampo (CEU Rugby Barcelona) and Emiliano Arnau (Rugby Lavila) have played.
Diego Sotelo and Gonzalo Sanches played College Rugby Division 1 in the United States.
Alex Sharman is an Australian Paraguayan who played for Paraguay and the University of Sydney (NSW, Australia), Falkirk (Scotland), Hinckley and Clifton Rugby Clubs (England), St. Louis Ramblers (USA) and Rugby La Vila (Spain).
For several reasons these overseas players often aren't available to play for Paraguay, but in 2009 Joel Orihuela and Juan Cabanas returned to South America for the South American Championships in Montevideo, and in 2010 Jose Otano, Diego Sotelo played for Paraguay in the South American Championship in Santiago de Chile.
