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

CALIFORNIA CUP
With PRO Rugby Season Two still a few months away, American fans on the west coast have a new competition to take note of. The California Cup kicked off on Treasure Island this past weekend with six clubs taking part and a host of players with representative experience. OMBAC and SFGG were the big winners in Round 1, with Life West just slipping past Belmont Shore. Old Aztecs performed well given their inexperience at this level of competition but Olympic has some work to do after their one-sided loss. The six-week competition is expected to provide a number of athletes to PRO’s three California-based sides.

URUGUAY XV
The development side for Los Teros completed a winning season in the Campeonato Argentino on Saturday with a 31-27 win over Argentine region Alto Valle. In doing so the Uruguay XV have achieved promotion from the third division of Argentina’s premier regional competition to the second, and will play in the ‘Ascenso A’ division next season. It’s some much-needed positive news for Uruguay after their disappointing results from their November international tour to Europe.

MACOME & DE LA VEGA
The return of two quality loose forwards to Pumas contention appears to be well in motion. Benjamín Macome was this week added to the national training camp to prepare for the Americas Rugby Championship and possibly Super Rugby. The powerful no8 made a big impression during the Americas Pacific Challenge after returning home from a stint in France with Bayonne. Also in line for a return is the talented Tomás de la Vega. After leading Buenos Aires to another Campeonato title and winning the Player of the Year award, the 26-year-old will sit down with Daniel Hourcade to discuss a return to test rugby after a self-imposed two-year exile. Argentine loose forward stocks are in rude health at the moment.

CONOR TRAINOR
Canadians might not have been ecstatic about the results from the November test series, but they can feel pretty good about their European professionals. Conor Trainor’s star continues to rise in France as he notched his 5th try of the season as Vannes edged Béziers on Friday. The dynamic attacker looks a good bet to step up into the Top 14 next season with prospective clubs already circling. Meanwhile in England Connor Braid was named to Worcester’s bench for the first time on the weekend though his Premiership debut will have to wait at least another week. Evan Olmstead also enjoyed a memorable weekend…

NEWCASTLE FALCONS
One of two clubs near and dear to Americas fans this season notched another important win on Sunday as they defeated Harlequins 38-32 at Kingston Park. Argentine center Juan Pablo Socino was in great form scoring two tries to lead the way. Also touching down was Canadian lock Olmstead who recorded his first ever Premiership try. Falcons are now an even 5 wins and 5 losses and sit in relative comfort in 7th spot. They have already tied their win total of last season and are only four points shy of the 27 that was just enough to avoid relegation. A spot in next year’s Premiership looks a near certainty for a club on the rise.

BRAZIL
They didn’t get the result they wanted, but their 21-17 loss to Portugal represents an improvement for Os Tupis, who had previously dropped two straight matches to Germany in the cold confines of Heidelberg and Leipzig. The relatively warmth of Coimbra proved more comfortable for the Brazilians who got strong performances from Moisés Duque and the Sancery twins. A short break is now in order for the team before preparations begin in earnest for the 2017 Americas Rugby Championship.

 

UNDER

WORLD RUGBY
Two thumbs down – way down – to World Rugby after their shocking treatment of the HSBC Women’s Sevens Series finals in Dubai this weekend. Despite trumpeting record profits during the week, the anemic governing body failed to provide a live stream for the women’s knock-out rounds, instead putting full attention on the pool stages of the men’s bracket. Given the enormous energy spent on marketing the inaugural Olympic 7s and the massive success of the event, the oversight is perplexing to put it nicely. A virtually unannounced stream was posted on the World Rugby Facebook page later in the day but by then the damage had been done. If World Rugby truly intends to ‘grow the game’ as it claims, it must make each and every competition accessible to viewers across the world. Anything less is simply unacceptable in the modern digital media landscape.

RUGBY CANADA
It’s safe to say that the head honchos at Rugby Canada are not the most popular folks on the block right now. An open letter published by Chairman Tim Powers during the week provided little clarity in the race to bring professional rugby to the country, and if anything its positive intentions seemed to backfire with a barrage of criticism hurtled at Rugby Canada’s social media pages. With PRO Rugby now a non-starter it appears that the Pro 12 is the preferred ‘partner’, though that does not sit well with vocal fans who prefer a North American option. If Rugby Canada has a hidden ace up its sleeve, now would be a good time to throw its cards on the table.

AMERICAS DUBAI 7s PERFORMANCE
There’s no way to sugar-coat it. It wasn’t a great weekend for the Americas at the Dubai 7s. On the women’s side Canada started off well but stumbled on Day Two and finished a somewhat disappointing 6th spot. The USA and Brazil struggled throughout and held up the bottom of the table in 11th and 12th respectively. The men were even less convincing. A consolation title and 9th place overall was the best the Eagles could manage after coming up short on the opening day. Saturday proved more fruitful but it’s not the start the team would have wanted. Even less so for Argentina, who did not impress and slid into the plate in 11th spot. Canada’s form showed signs of promise but the results are still a work in progress with a 13th-place finish identical to their ranking last season. Hopefully Cape Town will yield better results.

ENRIQUE PIERETTO
As expected the young tighthead prop was found guilty of foul play by the judiciary and suspended for seven weeks by World Rugby on Thursday. The 21-year-old from Córdoba was red carded for stomping on England’s Joe Marler at Twickenham a week ago. While the suspension is entirely justified, Pieretto can consider himself lucky the length of the sentence was not longer given the severity of the incident. The ruling means he will not take part in the Americas Rugby Championship and will miss the first four rounds of the Super Rugby season.