Brazil not looking too far ahead
By Frankie Deges
Despite the advantage of a considerable head-start for the Brazilians going into the second leg of their Rugby World Cup 2011 qualifying play-off against Trinidad & Tobago, there is clearly no question of complacency in the squad.
The yellow and green shirted Brazilians still have a home match to play on Saturday against a dangerous T&T side and are adamant that the 31-8 win in Port of Spain last Saturday will not play into their mindset at home.
"We must respect the opponents, there is still a game to be played and what this Brazilian XV has is a phenomenal strength and it will not allow anything to take away its focus," says Ramiro "Mocho" Mina, a prop playing in his fourth RWC qualifying campaign.
The most experienced player in the home squad, "Mocho" has played in the qualifying rounds for the 1999, 2003, 2007 and now 2011 Rugby World Cups.
"I think Brazil played well in the first leg and our growth as a rugby nation has been bigger than that of T&T since the last time we met," said the captain.
"Now we want to win without thinking of what comes next. We are expecting more than 3,000 spectators at the AD Parahyba Stadium, Sao José dos Campos (100 kilometres northwest of Sao Paulo) and we want to play well."
Next to him, literally shoulder to shoulder, will be hooker Daniel Danielewicz: "We have to play the best rugby we can play, give our best and earn the respect from our opponents who will come to Brazil wanting to better what they did at home."
An international since 2002, Danielewicz recognises that the scrum needs some work: "In the first game we held our own. This is a team that has been brought together by certain things off the field and has worked very hard, probably the hardest in my six years in the national team," he said.
T&T: A hard battle
Before flying to Brazil, T&T national manager Curtis Nero acknowledged it would be a hard battle.
"It is a tough task but our battle is mental. On Saturday, we did not handle the occasion very well and made far too many errors," said the former captain. "We have not given up and will travel to Brazil knowing that we have everything to play for."
Saturday's was the biggest win in the history of matches between the two nations. The last time the Calypso Warriors came to Brazil they lost 9-0 under a downpour in seaside resort Florianópolis.
Whilst organisers have decided not to charge an entrance fee, a group of players will be around the ground collecting donations to cover expenses for the team's preparation, much of which was covered by the players themselves in a sure sign of their commitment.
"We've had to pay a lot of things ourselves," said captain Mina. "But this group is much more complete, we've never been so well prepared. We want to continue to grow and for that we must receive help."
The winner of the two-match series will play next year in the following stage of the qualifying process against Chile and Uruguay, from which one team will emerge as the side to play against the loser of Canada and the USA for a direct place in RWC 2011.
"After Saturday, we need to rest. Only then will we start focusing on what comes next. But this is a team ready for a quality jump and ready to work hard for it," concluded Danielewicz.
