Brazil grab final World Cup spot

As expected, Brazil opponents in the final were Argentina.

The home team and pre-tournament favourities dominated the first period of the final. Julia Sarda scored inside the first minute, after which  three more tries giving Brazil a 20-0 lead at the break.

However the game was far from over. Aided by a yellow card for Brazil's Angelica Gevaerd, Argentina fought back with two converted tries, restarting the game with only 20 seconds to go and only six points behind. The final play lasted nearly two minutes, before Julia Sarda finally ended the game with a Brazilian try, giving her team a 27-14 victory - the closest final in the history of the tournament.

Both finalists had previously met in the group phase, where the game had followed a similar pattern with Argentina coming back from 17-0 down to 17-12, before a final Brazilian try had won the game by 24-12. These, and the Argentinian tries in the final, were the only scores Brazil conceded in the entire tournament.

Uruguay and - surprisingly - Venezuela qualified for the semi-finals from Pool B, pushing out 2012 beaten finalists Columbia onpoints difference after a 10-10 draw. However, the Venezuelans were dismissed 34-0 by Brazil in their semi, and Uruguay lost 17-7 to Argentina - though they did have the  consolation of taking third place.

Results:

Pool A:

Brazil 55-0 PeruArgentina 19-12 ChileBrazil 24-12 ArgentinaChile 38-10 PeruBrazil 24-0 ChileArgentina 52-0 Peru

Pool B:

Colombia 22-0 ParaguayUruguay 19-5 VenezuelaColombia 10-10 VenezuelaParaguay 0-30 UruguayColombia 0-15 UruguayParaguay 0-29 Venezuela

Bowl semi-finalsChile 31-0 ParaguayColumbia 19-0 Peru7th PlaceParaguay 12-15 PeruBowl finalChile 5-19 Columbia

Semi FinalsBrazil 34-0 VenezuelaUruguay 7-17 Argentina3rd PlaceVenezuela 5-17 UruguayFinalBrazil 27-14 Argentina