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

Jamie Cudmore
For years ‘Cuddles’ has been the hard man of Canadian rugby. Now into the twilight of his career the veteran of four World Cups is calling on World Rugby bosses to improve concussion protocols. While playing for Clermont, Cudmore claims to have been cleared to return to an ongoing match when he was unfit to keep playing. He told BT Sport’s Rugby Tonight on Wednesday how he suffered a concussion against Saracens in the 2015 Champions Cup Semi Final. Despite the head collision in St. Etienne the Canadian returned to play as he did again. The same is true against Toulon two weeks later in the final when he was knocked unconscious in the second minute and vomited in the dressing room before being allowed to return by doctors.

Ciaran Hearn
Another Canadian professional player making waves is Hearn. The London Irish midfielder has secured his playing future in England until 2019. This is fantastic news for Canada who will have a veteran player involved in a quality environment right up until Rugby World Cup 2019. Further encouragement is that London Irish remain undefeated in the 2016-17 season and sit at the top of the Greene King IPA Championship table, with an immediate return to the Aviva Premiership in 2017 looking ever likely.

Rodrigo Capó Ortega
The veteran from Uruguay became the final player from the Americas to score a try in the elite level in Europe in 2016. The second-rower scored a second half try for Castres who hammered Bayonne on Saturday. The win sees Castres very well positioned to press for a path to the playoffs. The same cannot be said of Bayonne who are sitting bottom of the table and are already 12 points behind where they need to be to avoid relegation.

Georgia to Tour Americas
The June test series for the Americas looks all but complete with multiple sources indicating that Georgia will play Canada, the USA, and Argentina during the June international window. Originally proposed as a trip to South America, the Lelos will now face tougher competition with the North Americans replacing Brazil and Uruguay. Having completed a first just a year ago with a clean sweep of the Pacific Islands – Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa – last June, the 12th-ranked Lelos will face the three highest-ranked Americas teams in succession for the first time, having twice previously toured North America and traveling to Argentina once before.

UNDER

Americas Players in the Guinness Pro 12
Things could not have been much quieter in the Guinness Pro 12 this past weekend. Only one solitary Argentine international was in action with the five other Americas-born players unavailable to the nations of their birth. Injuries have ruled out some while others simply haven’t been selected. It was over to Former Pumas prop Guillermo Roan who played for Zebre against Edinburgh this weekend.

Los Pumas 7’s
Argentina will take a young side to participate in the renowned Punta Del Este 7s tournament that will take place starting January 6. Currently 11th on the HSBC Sevens Series table, Santiago Gómez Cora has opted to rest his senior players with the circuit due to resume on January 28 in Wellington. Only four players who played in Cape Town earlier this month have been included – Renzo Barbier, José Barros Sosa, Nicolas Menéndez, and Matías Osadczuk. The rest come from the extended development pool of players that includes Americas Rugby Championship halfbacks Lautaro Bazán and Mauro Perotti as well as fellow Pumitas graduates Matías Ferro and Joaquín Riera.

Delon Armitage
Trinidad & Tobago’s Delon Armitage was yellow carded this weekend. It ultimately did not factor into the outcome of the match. Armitage’s Lyon ran-out 19-16 winners over Bordeaux. The result sees the growing club move further away from the relegation zone. Last season’s Pro D2 champions are currently very well positioned to avoid falling back into the second division. Avoiding the drop will require, among other factors, discipline.

AJ MacGinty
The start of his Premiership career has not been close to as powerful as last season. His move from Connacht to the Sale Sharks has not seen him taking with him the highs that saw him winning the Guinness Pro 12. He was on the bench this weekend against Bristol and has struggled to find his place in a vastly different offensive system to the one he excelled in at the Sportsground. An injury to classy scrumhalf Peter Stringer compounds matters and leaves Mike Phillips as his first choice halfback partner.  The former Lions test star now a far cry from his heyday and his service well below that of the snappy Stringer. Sale’s performance was poor against Bristol. The West Country side overcame a 13-point deficit to upset the Sharks 24-23.