South America look to keep on building

AS Sebastián Piñeyrúa's historic six-year term as President of Rugby Sudamérica comes to an end, his replacement shows no signs of slowing down.

- JOE SANTAMARIA

Piñeyrúa's fellow Uruguayan, Marcello Calandra, shared his plans with The Rugby Paper: "The path for rugby in South America was charted many years ago and there is great pride here for what has been achieved.

None of these important achievements come from nowhere; they are based on a lot of hard work." It is difficult to overstate the difference between the rugby landscape Calandra is inheriting and the one Piñeyrúa took on six years ago. In that time, the region launched its professional club league, Super Rugby Americas, broke numerous attendance records, and saw Chile make their debut appearance at the World Cup.

Given the rapid nature of development under Piñeyrúa, Calandra, below, could be forgiven for looking to consolidate, but there is no hint of it.

He said: "The main goal for Sudamérica.

Rugby for the 2027 World Cup in Australia is to have four countries from the region participate in the tournament. That's the big dream." The likes of Brazil or Paraguay could yet make this dream a reality, despite the fact World Rugby's qualification process does not favour the continent. Whether or not four teams make it to Australia is beyond Calandra's control, and he is filling his time with things that are.