Up and Under

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

 

UP

USA Rugby
Is this the greatest weekend in USA Rugby history? It’s hard to argue otherwise after a stunning performance against Uruguay saw the USA secure back-to-back Americas Rugby Championship titles on Saturday – the first ever ARC Grand Slam – and a magnificent undefeated tournament in Las Vegas for their second ever HSBC Sevens Series title. Long has the rugby world been wary of waking the ‘sleeping giant.’ Is this the turning of the tide? The USA are now ranked 15th in the world in XVs and 6th in Sevens. All signs suggest that the best is yet to come.

Argentina XV
Despite failing to come close to their expectations the Argentina XV were 28-8 winners on Saturday. This was a match which should be looked at for what it was for Argentina – the identification of potential Jaguares and Pumas. Several players laid claims to places ahead of under-performing Jaguares and Pumas incumbents. At the very least the tournament once again underlined the depth at Argentina’s disposal – more than enough talent to supply multiple sides in a proposed South American professional competition.

Canada
A new brand identity, the official opening of the national training center, and a victory over Chile to end the ARC. It’s not the kind of win that will be long remembered but getting that feeling back is a step in the right direction. Preparations now begin for the Repechage, an avenue with no guarantee of success. In the midst of such uncertainty and the disappointment of earlier defeats, the past week has been a welcome break from the dreary for Canadian rugby fans.

Brazil
It is not often that a 20-point defeat will see a team earning praise. Yet Brazil’s performance against the Argentina XV merits its place. Os Tupis produced arguably their greatest performance ever against an Argentinean side. They controlled possession and constantly frustrated the Argentina XV. In scrums Brazil won penalties, something which would have been considered impossible in the past. Brazil is a country improving without question. It ends the ARC as officially the 5th best in the Americas, doing so ahead of Chile.

Colombia u18’s Women
Colombia shocked the hosts of both the qualifying tournament and the Youth Olympic Games. An outstanding two days of competition from Las Tucanes u18’s meant Colombia booked the South American women’s place at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games. Colombia recorded wins over all opponents – Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Paraguay. On the final day of the competition they defeated Brazil twice. It follows on from Colombia’s senior Women’s 7’s side playing in the 2016 Olympic Games. The future is bright indeed.

South American Professional Rugby
An eight-team professional league is coming to South America, the southern equivalent of Major League Rugby, and could begin as early as 2019. Teams will come from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay – the same four countries from the ARC. The new league will ensure vital professional opportunities for all involved. It is not yet known where the teams will be based or the breakdown of distribution. What is for sure is that none of the four countries would be left out. Not only would all get teams but the teams could not be exclusive to their own nationality. Argentina’s superior player base could be used to bolster teams from Chile or Brazil to ensure competitiveness across the competition, in doing so raising the standards of locals.

Ontario Arrows
Canada’s new elite domestic side completed their proof-of-concept mission in impressive fashion on Saturday. While they didn’t come away from Houston with a win, Will Kelly’s late penalty goal secured a draw against the SaberCats – a professional Major League Rugby franchise who have been training together for months. The next step is for the Arrows to follow New York’s lead as official entries in MLR for 2019. To do so would enhance both Canadian rugby and the competition itself.

 

UNDER

Chile
It was five matches played for five losses for Chile. The 2018 ARC was a repeat of the 2017 competition. With a lonely win over Brazil in 2016 the Cóndores are officially the lowest performer of all six countries after 14 consecutive ARC defeats. Chile needs to establish a road map achieve better results in future campaigns. This includes a path to qualify for a World Cup. Chile has gifted players but needs a High Performance Center to replicate the process of Uruguay. More players need to be exposed to a daily training environment. They must also find a way to make their best available for the national side, far too many were missing in this competition. Chile have much room for growth but they must address their internal deficiencies.

Uruguay
The Cinderella story came to an end for Los Teros on Saturday. Having done so well in 2018 they were heavily beat by the USA. The Eagles had scored a staggering 47 points before Uruguay would open their account. Ultimately star scrumhalf Santiago Arata would dart over to prevent a whitewash. Two more tries followed to give Los Teros some credibility. While certainly disappointing, the loss should be taken into context. This was the sixth consecutive week of test rugby for the side with weeks of training prior. The players were visibly depleted. With World Cup qualification already secured the loss can be put behind them and long-term preparations can begin for Uruguay’s most important opportunity in Japan 2019.

Jaguares
Of the Jaguares and Hurricanes the second best team by a comfortable margin was Los Jaguares. The Argentine Super Rugby franchise was beaten by five tries to zero. Mario Ledesma admitted that his team had struggled and were sowing signs of not wanting to play. Realistically how many Jaguares had good matches? Two – Pablo Matera and Gonzalo Bertranou. The other starters did not play to the required level. The bench was also packed with under-performing players. Los Jaguares are now 0-3 for the season. They must regroup and find a much improved effort to overcome the Waratahs next weekend.

World Rugby and ARC Broadcasters
The ARC was streamed live by World Rugby on social media including Facebook and the site’s YouTube channel, yet viewing the matches was geographically restricted to those outside the Americas. Despite the rights being doled out ESPN, TSN, and The Rugby Channel, not every match was available in each country. On Saturday the only match broadcast live in Brazil was the home side against the Argentina XV. If the ARC is to grow tournament organizers must ensure that each and every match are available to be viewed, and preferably on-demand.

Benjamín Espinal
Argentina XV prop Benjamín Espinal was red carded on Saturday. He was sent off for a high tackle deemed to be dangerous against Brazil. The Argentina XV were then forced to play the remainder of the opening half and the entirety of the second with one less player. It complicated the task at hand and saw the Argentina XV scrum notably challenged at times. For Espinal the sanction is precisely not what he needs. Argentine policy is to drop a player following a card. Others are now to be considered ahead of him for Los Jaguares.