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
Chile produced their best performance in a very long time to humble Paraguay in Santiago. The 66-7 victory saw Los Cóndores’ back to their best and sends alarm bells to Paraguay as the threat of relegation to the South American ‘B’ Championship. The match was over well before half time. So impressive were Los Cóndores that they went to the break leading 54-7. Felipe Brangier, Benjamín Soto, Franco Velarde, José Tomás Munita,and José Ignacio Larenas all crossed for tries before Los Yacarés were able to open their account. The result keeps the dream of Japan 2019 alive for Chile.

Honduras
The Federacion Hondureña de Rugby has been accepted as the latest member of Sudamérica Rugby. The Central American Republic has gained associate member status and means that all of Central America is now formally a part of Sudamérica Rugby. Heading the campaign has been President Hector Godoy. His dedication over the past three months has seen Honduras officially meeting requirements. While Honduras is located outside of South America it is strategically important to Sudamérica Rugby not Rugby Americas North. This is based on the Spanish language and the country being relatively new to the sport, similar to other Central American Republics.

Turks & Caicos Islands
The Turks & Caicos Islands had a highly memorable Saturday, downing the higher ranked Bahamas on the road. Winning 26-19 the Flamingos have a 2-0 record in 2017. Earlier this month the Turks & Caicos Islands defeated the Dominican Republic 24-15. With two victories in the Rugby Americas North Cup, Turks & Caicos have also benefited by rising to a new high of 18th in the Americas Rankings.

Uruguay
On Saturday Los Teros made it 2-0 on the road to Japan 2019. Uruguay overcame Brazil 41-27. The result means Uruguay is the only undefeated team after two rounds of qualifiers. With a home game yet to come against Chile Uruguay are well placed to advance. The winner of the South American ‘A’ Championship will face the runner-up of the Canada vs USA World Cup qualifying series for a place in Japan 2019 as Americas 2.

Canada Sevens
For the Americas the London 7s was a another memorable tournament with all three teams reaching the Cup Quarter Finals and a Bronze Final contested between Canada and the USA. Ultimately it was the Canadians who came out on top, with some late errors contributing to the USA’s demise. Canada rose an impressive five spots from 13th in 2015-16 to 8th overall this season under the leadership of new coach Damian McGrath. Canadian forward Mike Fuailefau was named in the London Dream Team as was USA winger Perry Baker.

Philadelphia
Philadelphia’s Talen Energy Stadium will host Saracens vs Newcastle Falcons in an Aviva Premiership match on September 16 of this year. It follows the March 2016 fixture between Saracens and London Irish at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey. Talen Energy Stadium, formerly known as PPL Park, is the home of Major League Soccer franchise Philadelphia Union. It is also the venue of the annual Collegiate Rugby Championship sevens tournament and has previously hosted US Eagles matches against the New Zealand Māori in 2013 and Premiership club Harlequins in 2015.

Matías Osadczuk
Matías Osadczuk is the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series Rookie of the Year. The 20-year-old was today awarded with the prestigious prize of being the best newcomer on the world series. In March Osadczuk was named in the HSBC Dream Team for his excellence in the Vancouver 7s. Unfortunately a knee injury suffered in Hong Kong brought an early end to his season, ruling him out of both the final three tournaments on the HSBC circuit and also the World Rugby u20 Championship. Prior to the injury Osadczuk had scored 26 tries in his rookie season. A forward in the shortened game, his best position in XVs remains open to debate, playing as a center for SITAS and a winger for the Pumitas.

Hindú
A noteworthy series of events took place this past week for Buenos Aires’ Hindú club. Firstly Jaguares backs Joaquín Díaz Bonilla and Bautista Ezcurra were both free to play in the Nacional de Clubes Quarter Final against Urú Curé. They started at fly half and wing respectively with Díaz Bonilla kicking the winning points after Hindú had earlier looked to be out. Then on Saturday former winger Horacio Agulla confirmed he is returning to the club from Castres in France. Both he and Santiago Fernández are on their way back to where it all started.

Ontario Blues
While the end result might not be entirely unexpected, the manner in which Canada’s top regional side dispatched the previously undefeated Glendale Raptors was noteworthy. The seven-tries-to-four performance saw several players press their claims for international selection in front of Canada coach Mark Anscombe. Perhaps more importantly it sent a clear message to incoming professional startup Major League Rugby that the inclusion of Canadian teams would only enhance the competition.

 

UNDER

Bahamas
A home defeat to Turks & Caicos Islands sees the Bahamas slumping to 20th in the Americas Rankings. In being a World Rugby member it means the country is ranked lower than two non-members in the Americas Rankings. Without improvement the Bahamas face the prospect of falling further. Next up is an away match against the Dominican Republic on June 03. The Dominican Republic is presently three places lower than the Bahamas.

Brazil
Evident improvement yet still not at the level required to qualify for a Rugby World Cup. Saturday’s loss in Montevideo was Brazil’s second in as many weeks and officially eliminated the country from Japan 2019 contention. Additional involvement in the Americas Rugby Championship and an ever-improving fixture list will aid Brazil to further close the gap. For now, though, being 0-2 is extremely disappointing from a Brazilian perspective.

Paraguay
Badly beaten. Simply not good enough. Paraguay’s performance against Chile was that of a team being notably inferior to that of the opposition. Los Yacarés had no answer to what Chile threw at them. Inferior fitness, technique and ability saw Paraguay unable to compete. At times it was like a flashback to lopsided matches from past Rugby World Cups. Worryingly for Paraguay is that they now face Brazil away and need a win to avoid potential relegation.

Nicolás Freitas
Yet to get game time in Super Rugby, the South American ‘A’ Championship offered Nicolás Freitas an important opportunity. Unluckily he suffered a sprained knee against Paraguay and missed this past Saturday’s test match against Brazil. The 23-year-old has 17 caps and may earn his 18th against Chile this coming Saturday.

Americas Players in Aviva Premiership
All players from the Americas have been eliminated from the Aviva Premiership. No players from the Americas will be involved in the Grand Finale on May 27. This is the case due to it being a Wasps vs Exeter Chiefs showdown and neither club currently having players from the Americas on their rosters. Both clubs have been home to players from the Americas in the past. Notable names to have played for these clubs in the past include Gonzalo Camacho and Ignacio Mieres (Exeter Chiefs) and Paul Emerick, Gareth Rees, and the late Norm Hadley (Wasps). Going back to previous English Finals there have always been Americas players involved. 2017 sees this ended.

Further Humiliation for Jaguares
Los Jaguares home defeat against the Western Force was rock bottom. The Super Rugby franchise officially could not sink any lower. This was highlighted this past weekend as the Force were demolished 55-6 at home to the Highlanders. It is unthinkable that the Western Force were able to win in Buenos Aires only to then be so badly defeated in Perth. Los Jaguares’ frailties have seen the team now failing to deliver in two seasons. Despite this the same players will be playing for Los Pumas in June and are somehow expected to defeat England and Georgia.

Tomás Cubelli
Still on the road to recovery is Tomás Cubelli. The Argentine scrum half is yet to play all season for the Brumbies. His involvement for Los Pumas is in great doubt. This will mean an uncapped scrum half will fill his spot in June. Gonzalo Bertranou and Felipe Ezcurra have both started in Super Rugby with the former being the better positioned to serve as deputy to Martín Landajo.

Glendale Raptors
A perfect 10-0 start to the season came to a screeching halt in Burlington as they fell to the Ontario Blues by a score of 43-25. Their hosts enjoyed an overwhelming advantage in the scrum and in much of the forward play in general. The absence of experienced trio Zach Fenoglio, Peter Dahl, and Logan Collins was keenly felt and patches of brilliance from a star-studded backline was not enough to stem the tide. With the Rugby World Cup qualifiers fast approaching Canada might take some small confidence from the result knowing that six members of John Mitchell’s USA Eagles side were on the pitch for the Raptors.