BRASIL’S rugby league team has vowed to play in “nothing but boots and socks”, if necessary, to get the job done in Sydney on Saturday, after three nations’ uniforms failed to be delivered on time for the GYG Latino Nines.
Although there may be an eleventh-hour solution on game day to cover the Brazilians, they went to bed on game eve without certainty after their jerseys and shorts remained unsewn by the supplier.
A similar fate has befallen fellow Latino Nines contestants El Salvador and Nicaragua, both of whom have been forced to borrow or wear old uniforms for the event at Liverpool’s Hillier Oval.
“The boy’s commitment is such that they’ll do whatever they need to do to make an impression in their first appearance in Australia,” said Brasil manager Robert Burgin.
“We were told late Thursday night that only the socks are ready, so the players might have to be strategic about where they place them.
“It’s definitely disappointing for the debutants who looked forward to wearing the national kit, and for our sponsors and supporters who expect us to uphold a certain level of professionalism.
“There has been a promise of cleanskin yellow kits being delivered in the morning without our team design or sponsor logos, so that’s a silver lining, although I think the lads were growing enthusiastic about the idea of taking a team photo in the buff.”
While making light of the situation, there will be substantial financial and promotional losses from the mishap, with all videos and photos of the event set to depict incorrect sponsors, logos and branding.
Numerous promotional opportunities in the week leading up to the event have also been missed due to uniforms being unavailable.
Regardless, the 2019 GYG Latino Nines will go ahead and promises to be one of the most even and gripping installations of Emerging Nations Rugby League Nines, with the six competing nations all of similar standing.
Chile enters the tournament as the highest ranked Latino nation in rugby league and is aiming for a third successive Latino Nines crown.
Event details, draw and team lists below.
GYG LATINO RUGBY LEAGUE NINES
Saturday, September 7 (10am-5pm)
Liverpool All Saints RLFC, Hillier Oval, Memorial Avenue, Liverpool, New South Wales
POOL A – Chile, El Salvador, Nicaragua
POOL B – Brasil, Peru, Uruguay
SCHEDULE
9am – Gates Open
10am – El Salvador v Nicaragua
10.30am – Peru v Uruguay
11am – Chile v El Salvador
11.30am – Brasil v Peru
12.00pm – Nicaragua v Chile
12.30pm – Uruguay v Brasil
1pm – Interval
1.30pm – Winner Pool A v 2nd Pool B – Semi Final 1
2pm – Winner Pool B v 2nd Pool A – Semi Final 2
2.30pm – 3rd Pool A v 3rd Pool B – Fifth Place Consolation Final
3pm – Loser Semi Final 1 v Loser Semi Final 2 – Third Place Decider
4pm – Winner Semi Final 1 v Winner Semi Final 2 – Championship Final
PREVIOUS RESULTS
2016
Chile (1st), Peru (2nd), Uruguay (3rd), Colombia (4th), El Salvador (5th), Ecuador (6th).
Final: Chile 20 d Peru 14
Player of the Tournament: Daniel Aguirre-Acevedo (Chile)
2015
Chile (1st), Peru (2nd), El Salvador (3rd), Ecuador (4th), Colombia (5th), Uruguay (6th)
Final: Chile 14 d Peru 10
Player of the Tournament: James Horvat (Chile)
*Latino Nines was not held in 2017 or 2018 due to lead-up to the Emerging Nations World Championship
Players and nations in alphabetical order
BRASIL
Alves, Alexandre
Barreira, Donovan
Braga, Steve
Casanova Campina, Juan
Clifton, Lachlan
De Freitas Dos Santos, Leonardo
Gomes, Rubens
Hilberto, Hector
Howison, Connor
Jackson, Mark
Nunes, Dylan
Morais Pereira, Pedro
Rezende, Rodrigo ©
Rodrigues, Guilherme
Sampaio, Paulo
Coaches: Simon De Araujo / Matt Gardner
Trainers: Timothy Uluinaceva / David Harvey
Manager: Will Gomez
Physio: William Cen
Directors: Hugo Froes / Robert Burgin
CHILE
Aguirre-Acevedo, Daniel
Araya, Eugene
Avaria Jimenez, Alvaro
Betros, Josh
Caamano, Patrick
Castillo-Sioni, Mana
Climpson, William
Doberer, Nick ©
Lucero, Erick
Millar, Bradley
Montenegro, Sergio
Nitor-Alvear, Jose
Sandoval, Christian (Junior)
Tobar, Brandon
Wegener, Eduardo
Coaches: Andrew Charles, John ‘Squizzy’ Taylor
Trainer: Michael Grogan
EL SALVADOR
Alarcon, Alvaro ©
Alarcon, Michael
Arteaga Figueroa, Fredy
Godinez, Daniel
Godinez, Frank ‘Paco’
Gonzalez, Miguel
Guzman, Marcus
Maatouk, Albert
Maatouk, Anthony
Maatouk, Mikey
Mendoza, Oscar
Mendoza, Rafael
Monge, Jonny
Reyes Kiwi Kiwi, Carlos
Rodriguez, Brandon
Coach: Fredy Arteaga-Figueroa
Managers: Daniel Godinez, Paul Alarcon
Trainers: Stephen Dowler, Walter Godinez
NICARAGUA
Azzopardi, Steve
Davila, Daniel
Davila, Gabriel
Davila, Joel
Davila, Rafael
Espinoza, Jonathan ©
Flores, Kevin
Lara, Juan Jose
Membreno, Francisco
Morales, Jesse
Zamora-Rivera, Michael ©
Zapta Lizano, Jeremy
Coach: Roque Perez-Mejia
PERU
Altamirano, Frank
Altamirano, George
Altamirano, Paul
Daniela, Corey
Day, Sean
Fhon, Luis
Flores Casas, Claudio
Ibarburu, Jayden
Lozano Razuri, Roy
Parker, Isaiah
Parker, Jacob
Perez, Aaron
Portillo, Martin
Sommers, Jye ©
Coach: Tuki Jackson
Trainer: Wesley Mokoia
Director: Jaime Perez
Coach: Tuki Jackson
Manager: Jaime Perez
URUGUAY
Booth, Matty
Britos, Javier
Cama, Matt
Cama, Niko
Cama, Noah
Clarke, Steven
Gadea, Josh
Kungl, Adam
Kungl, Ryan
Livingstone, Jason
Mazzao, Johnny
Papa, Gabriel
Papa, Nicolas
Smith, Joel
Toledo, Julio
Standby:
Mieres, Nahuel
Papa, Diego
Vieira, Kris
Coach: Pablo Villardo
Trainer: Juan Scaron
Manager: Ruben Biurra