Dogos Rout Raptors, Sweep Season Series

Sunday’s Round 8 match between the American Raptors and Dogos XV looked a lot like the first time these two teams met back in Round 1. 

The Raptors (2-5) ended up on the wrong end of a 56-8 scoreline in the first meeting and again fell to Dogos (6-1-0) on Sunday by a final score of 63-14 to move to 0-2 against the Argentinian side on the season.

Dogos jumped all over the Raptors from the initial whistle. The visitors scored six of their 11 tries in the first half. Before the Raptors could get settled in, they were down by a try after Dogos’ punishing forward pack drove in a maul in the fifth minute. Dogos rattled off five-straight tries before Raptors’ scrum-half Devereaux Ferris stopped the bleeding by picking off a pass and scampering in for their first points of the match. Fly-half Ignacio Mieres drilled the penalty goal to make the score 29-7 in favor of Dogos. 

Just when it felt like momentum was beginning to turn in the Raptors favor, Dogos stole it back on the ensuing kickoff when number eight Valentin Cabral returned the restart for another Dogos try to extend their lead to 34-7 before the halftime break. 

The second half started much slower, but Dogos got back to their offense after 15 minutes of back-and-forth rugby. Hooker Tomas Bartolini punched in the first and second tries of the second half to give himself a whopping four tries on the afternoon. 

The Raptors scored their second try in the 60th minute of the match when Thomas Morani gathered a pass from Francisco Quinn and darted into the corner to put a dent into Dogos lead. Quinn drilled the conversion to cut the score to 41-14, but that was where the Raptors’ offense stopped. 

Dogos punched in three more tries in the final 20 minutes of the match to put the finishing touches on a 63-14 masterclass that helped prove why they are the lone Super Rugby Americas team that has yet to lose a match.

The Raptors now find themselves on a two-match losing streak after starting their six-match homestand on a two-match winning streak. Things don’t get much easier for the Raptors, who will close their homestand with matches against Pampas and Peñarol in the coming weeks.

The Round 9 matchup between the Raptors and Pampas will take place on Sunday, April 21 at Infinity Park. Kickoff is at 3 PM MT, and the gates will open at 2:30 PM. Tickets for the match can be purchased here, and it will be broadcast on ESPN+.