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

Vancouver Sevens
A record attendance of 77,096 was recorded across the two days of the Vancouver Sevens at BC Place this past weekend. The atmosphere was outstanding and once again showed the appetite for high level rugby in Canada and also emphasizes its place as one of the top events on the HSBC Sevens Series. Currently in year three of a four-year agreement as an event host, only a fool would bet against Vancouver retaining its place on the circuit when the rights for 2020-2023 are announced by World Rugby later this summer.

Perry Baker and Nathan Hirayama
It was a memorable weekend for two of the greatest exponents of sevens in Americas history. Perry Baker scored seven tries to push into first place overall on the 2017-18 circuit try-scoring standings and was the only Americas player named to the official HSBC Dream Team. Canada’s disappointing showing surely cost Nathan Hirayama his spot, but he can be rightly celebrated for passing legendary trio Waisale Serevi, Uale Mai, and Colin Gregor to move into 5th place on the all-time HSBC Sevens Series scoring list. Hirayama led Vancouver with 53 points and is currently the 2017-18 scoring leader with 219.

Jaguares
It took four rounds for Los Jaguares to come right but it did happen. Playing in Buenos Aires on Saturday the Argentine Super Rugby team had a spectacular start against the Waratahs. Emiliano Boffelli scored in the opening minute and minutes later was over for his second. With two other tries in the opening quarter, Los Jaguares had a 26-0 lead. No team has done so well against the Waratahs in the past eleven years. The Pablo Matera captained side would go on to score further tries to lead by even more. Yet with the Waratahs outscoring Los Jaguares in the second half the final score was reduced to a 10 point victory.

Major League Rugby
Major League Rugby plans continue to be revealed. This past week saw confirmation that the inaugural season’s Semi Finals are to be a double header hosted at Glendale’s Infinity Park on June 30. In addition the Final will be at Torero Stadium in San Diego on July 7. Expansion plans for future years also continue to be confirmed. New York has already been confirmed for 2019 while Dallas, Boston, and Chicago are among those in the running for spots. Two Canadian franchises are also in advanced negotiations for next season – Toronto (Ontario) and Vancouver.

South American Professional Rugby
Brazil is likely to have two Teams in South American Professional Rugby. It is the latest piece of the puzzle to have emerged in regards to the creation of a South American professional rugby competition. Early plans confirm that Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay are all on board. The official make-up of the competition has not yet been identified. In the case of Brazil the CBRu has indicated that two teams are the likelihood for the country. Locations for these sides are not yet known though São Paulo is a safe bet given the importance it carries in the country in economic, rugby and logistical terms.

Domingo Miotti
Flyhalf is a position in which Argentina desperately needs further options. Nicolás Sánchez turns 30 this year while Juan Martín Hernández turns 36. Next in line for the Jaguares and Pumas is Joaquín Díaz Bonilla who is uncapped at the age of 28. Juan Cruz González was the Argentina XV’s regular starter in the Americas Rugby Championship but his diminutive stature makes his prospects of higher honors unlikely. In Europe there are options though none can currently play for Argentina. The answer needs to come from home. That player may well be Miotti, an Argentina XV flyhalf in 2016 and 2017. Still just 21, the Tucumán pivot had a stunning performance on the weekend in Argentina’s Nacional de Clubes.

Facundo Isa
A two try haul from Isa helped Toulon claim a crushing home victory over Agen. The result means Toulon move up the standings while Agen are facing the real prospect of being relegated. Recent wins from Oyonnax complicate matters for Agen though with Brive struggling there is a lot that could happen. Isa’s double saw him showing his strength and pace. He is a player in his prime yet is blocked from playing for Argentina. The policy has complicated matters for Los Pumas rather than help them. Could Isa return for the 2018 Rugby Championship? His absence in 2017 was nothing short of catastrophic.

 

UNDER

Canada
Spain is now 80 minutes away from claiming the Europe 1 spot at RWC 2019. For Canada this of grave concern. Canada awaits three other countries in the Repechage in November. The winner of the round-robin tournament will claim the 20th and final spot at the World Cup. The success of Los Leones means Romania is all but guaranteed to face Samoa in the Play-Off Final. The loser of this joins Canada in the Repechage. An African country in addition to one from either Asia or Oceania will be the remaining countries in the Repechage. It is an extremely demanding task for Canada. Spain’s upheaval of the status quo guarantees that one of Romania, Samoa, or Canada will miss the World Cup for the first time.

Martín Landajo
Missing out on game time is Landajo. He has been captain of Los Pumas and Los Jaguares in the past. Daniel Hourcade has utilized him in all of his test matches since replacing Santiago Phelan in October 2013. Landajo, though, was a replacement for Gonzalo Bertranou in the first three rounds of Super Rugby. In round four he missed out altogether. Mario Ledesma kept Bertranou as his starting scrumhalf and had Felipe Ezcurra play as his deputy. Player management is a factor involved but is far from being the only one. Bertranou merits his place.

Tomás Lezana
Missing out on facing the Waratahs was key loose forward Lezana. He will also miss upcoming games as will Ramiro Moyano. Both players from Northern Argentina were ruled out during the week with Lezana out for a month and Moyano for at least one further match. On the flip side Jerónimo de la Fuente is set to return against the Reds this coming weekend. Meanwhile Tomás Cubelli and Matías Moroni continue their respective recoveries. Neither player will be fit in time for the remaining home games prior to the tour to Australia and New Zealand. Out for the season is tighthead prop Enrique Pieretto.

Hindú
The dominance of Hindú may have ended. The Don Torquato club were defeated at home by Duendes of Rosario on Saturday. This was despite the team fielding a formidable lineup. Former European-based Pumas Santiago Fernández and Horacio Agulla both featured. Also doing so were Argentina XV players Lautaro Bavaro and Nicolás Leivas. Whether this was a changing of the guard or not will become increasingly apparent over the coming weeks.

Biarritz
Gonzalo Quesada’s club suffered a 56-3 loss on Thursday. While the Basque club were on the road the manner of their defeat against Perpignan was not expected. It sees the Catalan side furthering their move to return to the Top 14. With four rounds left the club is top of the table. Biarritz are now in 5th spot and in danger of missing out on a place in the playoffs. Quesada’s men must improve rapidly. Indeed Béziers have now caught up to Biarritz in the standings.

Ramón Ayarza, Martín Bustos Moyano 
Bayonne are now 7th in the Pro D2. Their chances of reaching the playoffs, let alone returning to the Top 14, are quickly slipping away. In the latest rounds of the French second division Bayonne were at home against Nevers. It was a match they were expected to win cleanly, but instead they crashed to defeat. Not helping matters was team discipline. This included Chilean Ayarza and Argentine Bustos Moyano, both men receiving yellow cards during the match.

Newcastle Falcons Departures
The Newcastle Falcons has lost Juan Pablo Socino. At the completion of this season the 2015 World Cup Puma will move north to Scotland to join Edinburgh. Also set to depart is DTH van der Merwe. The Canadian is also Scotland-bound with the Glasgow Warriors set to recapture his signature. Other Americas players are also expected to follow their lead out the door. The departures come at a time when the club is doing far better than in prior seasons.

Gabriel Puig
It was not a great weekend for Los Teros in Vancouver but that is no excuse for the actions of Puig. Yellow-carded on Day One against the USA, he saw yellow once again for a shoulder charge against Russia. The act itself was clear for all to see, however most disappointing was his attitude following. His protestations both with the referee and sideline officials were unbecoming of a senior international player much less the captain, and a formal reprimand from World Rugby may yet be forthcoming. Puig must set an example for his young team, and he was very far from that in Vancouver.