Up and Under

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

UP

PRO Rugby
The announcement of the player rosters for the inaugural PRO Rugby season was a tremendous success. The American rugby community is buzzing with anticipation ahead of the season as big name players are to feature in the tournament. Others are also very much looking forward to the competition with Canada, Chile, Italy, New Zealand, Tonga and South Africa among the many countries with players involved.

Americas Youth
The best young players in the Americas were on display during the Americas Rugby Championship, and we’ve picked 10 top prospects as-of-yet unsigned by professional teams who appear certain to have long a fruitful careers. Of course there were also a number of impressive newcomers left out, and that bodes well not only for the future of the competition but for the depth of each country as we look ahead to the 2019 World Cup in Japan and beyond.

Martín Castrogiovanni
Capped 119 times by Italy, Castrogiovanni will go down in history as one of the biggest losses by any one country to another. Born and raised in Argentina, Castro was one of many Argentine players to be capped by Italy during the first decade and a half of professionalism. With Argentina being strictly amateur many went to play in Italy and be capped for the Azzurri. It aided Italy tremendously while Argentina had to adjust. This is now over and Castro is set to announce his international retirement. Aged 34 he is the most capped tighthead prop in history and 8th most capped player overall.

London Irish
Canadians Jebb Sinclair and Ciaran Hearn both featured in a massive win for London Irish over Argentina’s Mariano Galarza and Gloucester. Worcester won their third straight match and now look very unlikely to be relegated, but Newcastle Falcons only scored a losing bonus point against an out-of-form Bath side at the Rec, a game they really needed to win. Three more Argentines featured in the match with Juan Pablo Socino and Belisario Agulla on the Falcons match day roster and brother Horacio on the bench for the home team. With Irish now only five points behind Newcastle, the race is on to stay in the Premiership. A mouth-watering clash between the two sides on April 17 could well be the decider.

Scully, Dolan, and Peterson
Nearby at the Cardiff Arms Park the Cardiff Blues completed a spectacular 37-28 win over heavyweights Munster on Friday. The fixture was a rescheduled Guinness Pro 12 match and featured both Cam Dolan and Blaine Scully. The Eagles pair both got plenty of game time and performed well. Up in Scotland Greg Peterson played the full 80 minutes in Glasgow’s win over Leinster.

Nate Ebner
Another American player but one of a different kind deserves mention this week. Ebner of New England Patriots fame created headlines this past week when took a leave of absence from the 2015 NFL Champions to join the USA Sevens at the Olympic Training Center with the goal of making the squad for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. The Ohio native is now 27 and was a star rugby player in the making before being drafted by the Patriots in 2012. He could be quite the weapon for the Eagles Sevens team.

Gonzalo Quesada
Back in Up and Under but this time for the right reasons is Quesada. The Stade Français Head Coach motivated his players to complete a noteworthy home win over La Rochelle on Saturday. The five tries to three win reduces the deficit between itself and 6th place Montpellier to 14 points. While qualifying for the barrages would be a miracle, the Parisians do have the means of delivering.

UNDER

John Cannon
Canadian rugby is in mourning following the loss of former test midfielder John Cannon. The Abbotsford, British Columbia, native tragically passed away at the age of just 35 from a suspected heart attack. A highly respected rugby player, Cannon debuted against the USA as a 20 year old in May 2001. He would go on to win 31 caps in all, 29 of those starts, and represented Canada at the 2003 World Cup in Australia. One of Canada’s hardest and most capped centres is gone far too soon.

Los Jaguares
Three games played now and Los Jaguares have just one win to show for their efforts. The South Americans have been playing extremely adventurous rugby and have won plenty of accolades in the process. It is certain to bare fruit for Los Pumas who are seeking to win Rugby Championship matches by outscoring their opponents through tries. For the purposes of Super Rugby, though, the Argentine franchise is well below where it ought to be.

Sam Cane
Seen as the long-term replacement to the retired New Zealand captain Richie McCaw, Sam Cane is a very talented player. He will, however, not be a popular player with South Americans. His late, dangerous, and illegal hit on Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro in the Jaguares-Chiefs match was a clear red card incident. New Zealand referee Chris Pollock missed it while the TMO was not entitled to intervene. The ugly incident is certain to see Cane suspended. Tetaz Chaparro faces recovery after suffering head trauma. He was instantly knocked out by Cane’s reckless shoulder charge.

Italian Model
The estimated Italian injury count reached 18 as Italy prepared to take on Wales in a Six Nations clash this past Saturday. The lack of competitiveness of the central Europeans was extraordinary as Wales completed a record 45 point win in Cardiff. Argentina opted against replicating Italy’s model used in the Guinness Pro 12 of having two relatively small town teams and also of allowing players to continue to be spread across other unions. In 2016 Italy is ranked 7th in Europe and has poorly supported teams struggling in an otherwise Celtic competition. Argentina is comparatively well off with a stronger central roster and a team already showing to have a far larger supporter base based in the country’s economic and political center.