Up and Under July 24-25

The Up and Under is a weekly feature on Americas Rugby News which reviews the best and worst from games involving the Americas teams on the weekend.

UP

US Eagles
A solid win over the higher ranked Japan sees the USA close the gap in the World Rugby rankings to move closer to Italy and further away from Romania. A place in the world’s Top 15 is now within sight. The Eagles played a good game and, importantly, completed a win against Rugby World Cup 2015 opponents Japan. Their pool match in Gloucester, England will be mandatory viewing.

50 Caps for Petri
Not everybody’s favorite Eagle, but undeniably a fine servant to his country. Petri now overtakes Kort Schubert to become the 8th highest capped Eagle of all time. One place ahead of him is Lou Stanfill, who celebrating winning the test in his home town. Both players stand realistic chances of playing in the World Cup and, if so, they should overtake Dave Hodges and Paul Emerick who both earned 53 caps.

Cam Dolan at second row
Clevergate need not remain in the headlines, not while Dolan is able to play out of position and do so very well. In partnership with specialist Hayden Smith the Eagles second row worked very well which, crucially, should enable Samu Manoa to play back-row at the World Cup. Dolan and Smith join Stanfill and Greg Peterson as the probable locks to go to England. Not only will Manoa be able to play in his natural position, but so will Scott LaValla who played well on the side of the scrum against Japan.

Santiago Cordero at the back
Argentina’s two fullback spots have now been taken. Cordero’s performance against Australia indicated that he has the maturity to go with his natural ability. He is ready for a regular spot on the test team. With ball in hand he threatened constantly and was confident in his decision making abilities throughout the game. His defense continues to attract criticism but Willie le Roux, Leigh Halfpenny and Brice Dulin have similar issues. Cordero will play in the World Cup.

A fit-again Camacho
Closing in on two years without playing and Camacho returned better than expected, proving he is a must for the World Cup. He played very well both in attack and as a defender, and his speed has not fallen away. Camacho joins Cordero, Juan Imhoff, and Joaquín Tuculet as World Cup probables, leaving one remaining vacancy for the back three. Manuel Montero’s unfortunate injury leaves a spot for either Horacio Agulla or Lucas González Amorosino.

UNDER

Canada
Now ranked 18th in the world Canadians are concerned about the World Cup. Bottom ranked opponents Romania have beaten Canada twice since 2011 and require a team with a solid pack to beat them. The Canadian set piece was not up to standard with the lineout and scrum both failing entirely. Hooker Aaron Carpenter started strongly with two tries but, like many, was unable to play to his best for the duration. Hard days are ahead for Canada.

Pacific Nations Cup kickoff times
World Rugby’s efforts of streaming the Pacific Nations Cup live have been a big hit with many neutral rugby fans tuning in online to watch the action. On Friday, though, it was complicated due to Canada v Tonga kicking off one hour before the Eagles v Japan. The result was that the second half of Canada’s game took place at the same time as the opening half of the USA v Japan.

Jaco Peyper’s officiating in Mendoza
South African Jaco Peyper is to referee the World Cup opener between England and Fiji but the decision may not have been the right one, certainly not if his performance in Mendoza is anything to go by. Early signs were not good as Peyper allowed Australia to dive in at the opening ruck of the game and it continued throughout. He did not yellow card Israel Folau for challenging Nicolás Sánchez in the air, awarded a Wallaby try from a forward pass, and missed Michael Hooper punching Sánchez in the head, a certain red card offence with the score at 14-9.

Argentine bench
While not winning the South Americans were well in with a shot at winning until the replacements were called on. Australia’s reserves added to the starters while Argentina went down hill in a bad way. The depth was not there to compete against a team as good as Australia and a number of players may have severely harmed their World Cup selection chances. Before going to the bench Argentina was less than a try behind, thereafter a gap emerged.

Argentine discipline at the breakdown
Too many needless penalties were given by Los Pumas in the tackle area and at the breakdown. Front rowers Agustín Creevy and Ramiro Herrera were both penalized for breaking elementary rules. It gave Bernard Foley kickable penalties including two relatively simple attempts which he landed, this on a night when his kicking was at under 50%.