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

Chile
There were five countries from the Americas playing this weekend and the only one to win was Chile. Los Cóndores were quick out of the blocks against South Korea. A convincing 20-0 half time lead was converted into a 30-12 victory. The teams will meet again on Saturday in the second and final test match. Another win will significantly aid Chile’s preparations for the 2017 Americas Rugby Championship.

Canada
All things considered Canada’s loss against Ireland marked progress. A year ago Ireland won 50-7 in Cardiff while back in 2008 it was a 55-0 thrashing. On Saturday the Canadians proved to be highly competitive, giving Ireland a genuine test match. The 52-21 final score hides the reality. Indeed with 20 minutes remaining the scores were tied at 21-21. Just seven days prior Ireland had beaten New Zealand in Chicago.

DTH van der Merwe
As was the case against in Cardiff last year, van der Merwe scored Canada’s first try against Ireland, once again an intercept. The difference in Dublin on Saturday was that Canada crossed for two others. The strike rate of van der Merwe is such that he has scored tries in his past six test matches. Still aged just 30 the 40-times capped Canadian may yet play in Japan 2019. If so that would be his fourth World Cup.

Enrique Pieretto
Argentina’s scrum was on the wrong side of numerous first half calls from referee Angus Gardner. This saw the yellow carding of first choice tighthead prop Ramiro Herrera. With a one-man advantage and a five meter penalty Wales opted for a scrum. Argentina was forced to bring on a specialist and sacrifice a flanker. Javier Ortega Desio made way for Enrique Pieretto, and the 21-year-old from Córdoba came on to smash Welsh legend Gethin Jenkins backwards and win a scrum penalty from his first act of play. A highly promising player for the future.

Uruguay XV
Three matches into the Campeonato Argentino and the Uruguay XV are on fire. Uruguay’s official ‘A’ side has won all three matches, doing so by collecting a bonus point on every occasion. This makes the Uruguay XV top of the table with 15 competition points in their division. Additional positive results and earning promotion will become entirely plausible. The exposure of more players to a higher level of rugby is of extreme benefit to the national test side.

Benjamín Urdapilleta
In the Top 14 this weekend Urdapileta helped Castres to a big win over Brive. The former Puma kicked 17 points in Saturday’s home win. Both he and Uruguayan club mate Rodrigo Capó Ortega are to play for the French Barbarians against Australia this month. They are players who have had their international careers cut short. Their contributions in France are, nonetheless, extremely valuable as ambassadors for rugby in the Americas.

UNDER

Argentina
A four-point loss against Wales on Saturday sees Argentina falling in the World Rankings. The loss was narrow and could have been a win. The reality is Argentina did not get out of second gear and was fortunate not to lose by more. Wales’ opening half dominance did not see tries being scored. In the end the travel from Tokyo to Cardiff via Milan took away a day’s preparation time and the resulting jet lag only made things worse. A much improved performance is expected against Scotland this coming Saturday.

Uruguay
Argentina’s loss was unexpected but not a surprise. Wales’ appalling performance against Australia and Argentina’s big win over Japan meant Los Pumas ought to have won. But then there is Uruguay, a team to have played at Rugby World Cup 2015 losing to Germany. This is nothing short of an upset of epic proportions. Looking at it in hindsight it is clear that Uruguay made a grave error of judgement in not fielding their strongest possible lineup. Some were rested for games two and three of November. In terms of the big picture it will not impress World Rugby who are investing heavily in Uruguay in the build up to Japan 2019.

USA
John Mitchell’s credentials as a coach are outstanding but his selections as Head Coach of the USA thus far have been erratic. Having the world class Samu Manoa on the bench to start a test match against a higher ranked opponent is nothing short of madness. It does not end there. Cam Dolan and Danny Barrett were left out and Langilangi Haupeakui was on the bench. The selections do not mirror a coach fielding his strongest lineup. As the match against Romania unfolded it was clear that numerous replacements performed to a superior standard than those athletes they were replacing.

No Room for Curitiba Players on Brazilian Roster
A week after winning the national Brazilian club championship Curitiba failed to have a single player make the Brazilian roster. Brazil’s upcoming three-match tour of Germany and Portugal will see no players from the Southern Brazilian club. Players from rival clubs have instead been preferred. It brings into question the CBRU’s insistence on developing the Super 8 to make it serve the purposes of the Brazilian test team. Clubs nationwide certainly have issues with the national union’s policy.

Sergio Parisse
Following on from losing against Ireland the All Blacks were always going to be hell-bent on a big win. Their opponents were no match for them. New Zealand simply put Italy to the sword. It is not unusual for the Azzurri to drop such matches but the lack of competitiveness from the side was deeply concerning. Captain Parisse himself did not play good rugby in Rome. His team’s defensive arrangement was poor with New Zealand taking advantage of it at will. This coming Saturday Italy face South Africa. Without massive improvement they are not going to be able to challenge them.

No Patricio Fernández for Pumas
Horrible news came out of France last Monday. That being that Clermont Auvergne had signed a new deal with Argentine flyhalf Pato Fernández. The playmaker will remain at the club until 2020. This rules him out of international duty for Argentina over the coming years and includes the 2019 World Cup. That is assuming the existing selection laws are not altered. The UAR have clarified their hard stance to say under exceptional circumstances a player may be selected. Regardless of policies Fernández  is a world class athlete that would significantly contribute in a positive manner to Argentina, particularly in the Rugby Championship.