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

Bolivia
Bolivia is now an associate member of Sudamérica Rugby. The Federation Boliviana de Rugby (FBR) was officially accepted this past week by the regional governing body. The landlocked country is the final South American union to join the regional governing body. Bolivia joins Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela in Sudamérica Rugby. At the present there are 14 rugby clubs in the country, with the sport played in six cities. Involved in rugby are 676 players, 35% of whom are juniors and 21% are women.

Brazil
A 28-12 win by Brazil over Chile on Saturday underlines the tremendous rugby growth of the largest country in Latin America. The win was the second of the year from Os Tupis over Los Cóndores and underlines the changing rankings of the two countries. Brazil played the better rugby in the match, were smarter in their decision making, better organized and more patient. Jardel Vettorato, Moisés Duque, and Lucas Tranquez scored tries with the latter crossing for a genuine contender for try of the year. Both Chile and Brazil play again next weekend. Brazil face the Argentina XV in Buenos Aires while Chile will take on the Uruguay XV in Montevideo.

Argentina XV
The hierarchy in Argentina is unorthodox. The teams in senior men’s rugby are 1 Los Pumas, 2 Los Jaguares, 3 Argentina XV. Players involved for the Argentina XV are ultimately those under consideration for Los Jaguares. Against the Chiefs on Friday, Juan Cruz Mallía and Santiago Medrano made their Super Rugby debuts. Both were involved for the Argentina XV earlier this year in the Americas Rugby Championship. Against Paraguay on Saturday there were places for Super Rugby players Tomás Cubelli, Joaquín Díaz Bonilla, and Benjamín Macome. The remainder were a mix of u20 players and returning names from prior Argentina XV activities. Many gave Mario Ledesma reason to consider them as they won 64-3 against Paraguay on Saturday.

Uruguay XV
In looking to grow their player base Uruguay took the bold decision to field the Uruguay XV and not Los Teros in the Sudamericano 6 Naciones ‘A’. This enables the leading players to be in top shape for next months World Rugby Nations Cup tournament in Montevideo. In their first outing the Uruguay XV played away against Colombia in Medellín. They claimed a 26-5 victory in muddy conditions, scoring four tries to one. With RWC 2019 quickly approaching Uruguay need to use the time wisely. Based on the evidence thus far they made a very smart decision.

Jaguares
A 4-0 record on tour in Oceania is simply mind-blowing. Los Jaguares’ are now having one week off before returning to the field against the Bulls on May 19. The Argentine side now have everybody talking about them. Australian sides have lost 38 consecutive Super Rugby matches against New Zealand teams. Los Jaguares defeated both the Blues and Chiefs in New Zealand over the past two weekends. They also defeated the Rebels in Melbourne and the Brumbies in Canberra. A place in the play-offs is suddenly being spoken about. Based on current positions Los Jaguares would indeed feature in the Quarter Finals.

Major League Rugby
The newest American professional competition received a significant boost on the field this past weekend. Two highly entertaining and competitive matches took place. On Friday the San Diego Legion edged the Houston SaberCats with a Tony Purpura try in stoppage time securing a remarkable 35-32 win for the home side. The SaberCats will be disappointed with defeat but played their part in the best match of he season so far. Also notable was the come-from-behind win by the Glendale Raptors over a defiant Utah Warriors. Heading into the match Glendale were heavily favored but the Warriors showed they are not just here to make up the numbers. It’s been a very strong introduction for Major League Rugby.

Austin Elite
An historic first win was recorded on Thursday by the Austin Elite. The Texas club claimed their first win on record, doing so against New Orleans Gold in a Major League Rugby fixture. The 30-17 victory included a double from Eagles flanker Hanco Germishuys. Austin will play next against the Utah Warriors in Salt Lake City on Friday. The New Orleans Gold play their next match at home against Seattle on May 12. The date of the fixture means they have two more days to prepare than do the Elite.

Ontario Arrows
One could not have asked for a better opening home performance from the Arrows as they thrashed the Boston Mystics to the tune of 77-8 at York Alumni Stadium. After their first scheduled match against New York was iced-out, the Arrows must have wondered if they were cursed as a sudden wind storm engulfed Toronto earlier in the day but the match went through and more than 1,600 showed up to take in the historic occasion. With a home-and-away series against a Canada Select side two weeks away and a final decision on entrance to Major League Rugby in 2019 set to follow, these are exciting times indeed for Canadian rugby fans.

Liga Sul-Americana de Rugby
South America’s Professional League is growing before it begins. Plans for the new competition have expanded with it going from an 8 team to a 10 team league. This includes a new country with Paraguay marked to join Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay. The new competition is set to be unveiled as the Liga Sul-Americana de Rugby. No teams have yet been confirmed though Nacional and Peñarol are expected to be confirmed as Uruguay’s two sides. Reports indicate that Argentina is to have four teams, Brazil two and Chile and Paraguay one each.

UNDER

Chile
Los Cóndores were beaten 28-12 by Brazil on Saturday. The making of defeat was the largest of all-time suffered by Chile against Brazil. It sees the Chileans falling to an all-time low of 31st in the World Rankings. The loss was not an isolated defeat. To the contrary Brazil has been outperforming Chile over the past three years. A superior structure has seen Brazil moving up the rankings while Chile sits on the edge of a cliff. The side which took on Brazil was close to being Chile’s top side, and on paper stronger than that of Os Tupis.

Jen Kish
Just days after John Moonlight stepped away from the field, Jen Kish has confirmed her own retirement, doing so at the age of 29. The Olympic captain had already stated her intention to hang up the boots at the end of the 2017-18 HSBC Women’s Sevens Series but hip and back injuries have now ruled her out for the remainder of the season. A dual-international in both Sevens and the 15-a-side game, Kish’s resume speaks for itself. Under her leadership Canada won Silver at the 2013 Women’s World Cup Sevens, Gold at the 2015 Pan Am Games, and perhaps most memorably Bronze at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. She was named to the official Dream Team for the inaugural Olympic Sevens, and was the 2016 Americas Rugby News Sevens Player of the Year competing against both men and women’s candidates.

Joaquín Tuculet
The year is over for Tuculet. Argentina’s leading fullback suffered ruptured knee ligaments against the Chiefs on Friday. He is to undergo surgery this week in Buenos Aires. The recovery time is six months making him unable tho play again this year. Argentina will require a fresh face at fullback this year with Emiliano Boffelli, Santiago Cordero, and Bautista Delguy the leading candidates. Alternatively Juan Cruz Mallía may make the step up. Los Pumas will now be without two of their top players against Wales and Scotland next month with Tuculet and Pablo Matera certain to miss out.

Ecuador
Guatemala will host this year’s Sudamericano 4 Naciones B tournament while the C tournament will also take place in Central America. Involved will be Costa Rica El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. Missing out on the B tournament is Ecuador. Problems from 2017 are yet to see the country reinstated. Should Ecuador be allowed to return it will be in the C tournament.

Samoa
The Rugby Europe scandal has spilled over with Samoa suffering collateral damage from the debacle. The Pacific Island nation was scheduled to compete in a RWC qualifying series in June against Europe 2. Instead the series is to be postponed with Samoa instead to play against Fiji and Tonga. Rugby Europe and World Rugby are yet to reach a solution and the patience of Samoans appears to have run out. Social media has seen players from both the past and present voicing their frustration with the spill-over from the Rugby Europe qualifiers. Included is captain Chris Vui who says Samoa is being punished over other people’s mistakes.

Next Senior Side
Spain’s involvement in RWC 2019 depends on two players – Mathieu Bélie and Bastien Fuster, both of whom played for France u20’s when France did not have a senior side such as France ‘A’, or the French Barbarians as the designated ‘Next Senior’ side. Many players from leading countries have changed their allegiance though they have done so via technicality. Wales’ Ross Moriarty and Gareth Anscombe played for England and New Zealand u20’s respectively, Scotland’s Cornell du Preez played for South Africa’s u20’s while Ireland’s CJ Stander even captained South Africa’s u20’s. There is not even room for debate. The ‘Next Senior’ designation always needed to be universally applied. Not with unions nominating their second team but by having one rule for all.