Up and Under Special Edition

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. Due to the volume of rugby played this past week this week’s Up and Under is a Special Edition.

 

UP

Brazil
Miracles do happen. Brazil came back from 30 points down to deliver a masterclass final quarter in Buenos Aires. Os Tupis’ 36-33 victory will arguably topple their Americas Rugby Championship wins over Canada and the USA to become Brazil’s greatest ever victory. Michael Moraes scored twice with João Luiz da Ros, Ariel Rodrigues, and Arthur Bergo each grabbing singles. It was a special occasion for record cap-holder ‘Ige’ da Ros. After 20 years of playing for the Tupis, Saturday’s match was his final appearance.

Chile
2018 has not been kind to Chile. A lackluster campaign in the ARC saw them finish winless. They opened their Sudamericano 6 Naciones ‘A’ campaign equally poorly, falling badly to Brazil in São Paulo despite fielding their strongest lineup of the year. In Montevideo on Saturday Los Cóndores turned it around to complete a 22-20 win over the Uruguay XV. It was particularly notable given their hosts had added several of their senior squad members to bolster the lineup.

Curaçao
The southern Caribbean island nation of Curaçao won on Friday to move up from bottom spot in the Americas Rankings. Curaçao’s 7-5 victory saw them toppling Guadeloupe at the Stade Municipal des Abymes René-Serge Nabajot. For Curaçao is it job done as they end their year with a 1-1 record. They lost to the Dominican Republic who are to have home advantage against Guadeloupe on June 9.

Paraguay vs Colombia
A classic encounter unfolded in Asunción, Paraguay on Saturday. The home side faced Colombia, a country they had never lost to going into the game. On full-time Paraguay had retained their unbeaten record though they were fortunate to do so. Colombia held a 26-15 half time lead and had scored some brilliant tries in the process. Los Tucanes winger Arley Urrutia ran in two scintillating tries. Yet with Colombia held scoreless in the second half Paraguay would win, doing so by 28-26 with a late penalty.

Turks & Caicos Islands
A fantastic performance at home from the Turks & Caicos Islands saw them completing a 63-12 victory on Saturday. They did so against the British Virgin Islands to rise in the Americas Rankings. A place for the Turks & Caicos Islands in the 2019 Rugby Americas North (RAN) Trophy is expected. In 2017 they came away with a solid victory over 2018 participants the Dominican Republic.

Women’s World Cup
Welcome and necessary changes have been confirmed by World Rugby for the 2021 Women’s World Cup. The tournament length has been increased from 23 to 35 days, teams now have a minimum 4 days rest between pool matches, squad sizes have increased from 28 to 30 players and there are to now be Quarter Finals matches. On the flip side the tournament will remain as a 12-team competition rather than being expanded to 16.

USA Women’s Eagles
New Zealand had minimal problems in winning Gold in Langford over the weekend. Their 46-0 squashing of Australia in the final underlined just how good the kiwis were at the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series event. The USA Women’s Eagles also had a strong tournament, earning Bronze after losing out to the eventual champions in the Semi Finals. Canada defeated Ireland 29-12 to claim 5th while Brazil downed  Russia 24-19 to finish 11th.

Glendale Raptors
For the second week in a row the Glendale Raptors were given a stern challenge by their opponents but once again emerged the winners taking a 31-27 result over the San Diego Legion at Infinity Park on Sunday. The battle up front was particularly intriguing with the San Diego forwards causing significant problems for Glendale with their highly effective driving maul. It leaves Glendale alone at the top of the Major League Rugby table, the only undefeated team remaining after four rounds.

Seattle Seawolves
The Seattle Seawolves completed a 31-29 victory on the road against the New Orleans Gold on Saturday. The win came despite being outscored by five tries to four. Pivotal to the victory was the goal kicking of Peter Smith who landed all five of his attempts. Meanwhile NOLA kickers Taylor Howden and Michael Baska combined for four misses at goal. Seattle face the Utah Warriors at home this coming weekend, while New Orleans host Houston.

Blaine Scully
Californian Blaine Scully made history on Friday. The USA Eagles captain was a try-scorer in a  31-30 winning effort in the European Challenge Cup Final. The Cardiff Blues completed a come-from-behind win over Gloucester in Bilbao, Spain. The victory was the second European title for the Welsh capital side and the first for Captain America.

Tyler Ardron
The Chiefs bounced back from their home defeat against Los Jaguares in Rotorua to defeat the Stormers in Cape Town this past weekend. Canadian international Tyler Ardron made his first start at No8 for the Chiefs having previously played lock. The 26-year-old has given a very positive account of himself thus far  both as a player and ambassador for Canadian rugby. He could open the door for others to test themselves in one of the world’s premier domestic competitions.

Jamie Cudmore
One of the all-time greats of Canadian rugby, Cudmore is now the General Manager of Provence Rugby. The veteran of four World Cups takes charge of the French club, newly promoted to the French second division – the Pro D2. It’s music to the ears for Canadians both as an individual achievement, with an eye towards greater coaching honors in the future, but also potentially opens the door for more Canadians to ply their trade as full-time professionals.

Tomás Lezana
The 24-year-old loose forward is now the caretaker captain of Los Jaguares. He fills the void left vacant by injuries to Pablo Matera and Joaquin Tuculet. Lezana is now to take the helm of a team at an all-time high. A tremendously successful tour or Oceania saw the Argentine franchise defeating the Rebels, Brumbies, Blues and Chiefs to be on course for a historic appearance in the Super Rugby play-off’s. Lezana will lead Los Jaguares against the Bulls this coming Saturday in Buenos Aires.

Callum Black
Long known to be qualified for the Eagles but thought to be ‘lost’ having committed to Ulster and Ireland, the veteran loosehead prop will join up with the USA squad for the upcoming June internationals in a bid to play in the 2019 World Cup. Black’s arrival and the return of Eric Fry gives coach Gary Gold two experienced professionals at loosehead with Titi Lamositele – rested for June – now looks likely to concentrate on tighthead, a position he has frequently covered for his club side Saracens.

 

UNDER

Argentina XV
From 33-3 up at half time to a 36-33 defeat. This was the Argentina XV’s afternoon against Brazil on Saturday. The appalling performance from Felipe Contepomi’s team in the second half needs to be scrutinized. The players were pathetic, but so to were the selectors. Contepomi had names involved who are far from being in the discussion as being the second best Argentine player in their position. The meltdown in the final quarter underlined the need to take matters far more seriously, with the Argentina XV appearing more and more like a Barbarians side than a proper competitive team.

Barbados
At home on Saturday Barbados fell to a 37-29 defeat against Jamaica. It was the Bajans second loss against the Crocs after falling to a 50-14 defeat last month. The two defeats see Barbados falling in the Americas Rankings while Jamaica rise and claim a spot in nest year’s RAN Championship. Barbados now await the bottom placed side from the ongoing RAN Championship to see who they will face in the 2019 RAC Cup.

Bermuda
A 48-28 defeat against the USA South Panthers sees Bermuda beginning their 2018 international campaign on the back foot. Next weekend Bermuda face Trinidad & Tobago on the road. They need a win or they will be heavy favorites for relegation from the Rugby Americas North Championship to the Rugby Americas Cup division for 2019. After facing Trinidad & Tobago, Bermuda will have three weeks to prepare for Caribbean powerhouses the Cayman Islands.

El Salvador
Results this weekend see El Salvador and Panama overtaken despite not taking to the field. Officially El Salvador are now ranked last in the Americas Rankings. Both Central American republics are expected to compete in the new Sudamericano 4 Naciones C tournament later this year. Details of when and where the competition is to take place remain unconfirmed. As it stands the Sudamericano 4 Naciones C will feature El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. If Ecuador are reinstated by Sudamerica Rugby then the competition would become a five nations tournament.

Uruguay XV
Uruguay have qualified for RWC 2019. The hard work has been done. Make no mistake it was a huge mountain to climb and Uruguay is now taking action to build upon it. They need to have a competitive roster. Unlike 2015 for 2019 they have time to act. The game plan at the moment appears somewhat mysterious. Senior players, now professionals, were meant to be rested during the Sudamericano tournament to rest and focus on physical preparation. Instead a number of them were involved against Chile. A clear decision should be made one way or another.

Austin Elite
The Austin Elite became the first side to lose in the MLR against the Utah Warriors. Their 41-22 defeat sees them rooted to the bottom of the standings. They are in danger of remaining there as they have a bye next weekend while the remaining six teams all have matches. Hanco Germishuys has been their standout player but the supporting cast has not been of the same caliber. The number of points conceded is easily the highest in the competition and something that needs to be addressed immediately.

CUBA
Traditional URBA Top 12 powerhouses CUBA fell to a 20-14 home defeat on Saturday. They were defeated by San Martin, a team playing just their second match in Buenos Aires’ top flight. Pacific deserve plenty of credit for their performance. It was a major upset. It asks questions of CUBA, a club to have produced world class players and many Pumas. Starting in the defeat were Tomás de la Vega, Lucas Maguire and Nicolás Solveyra – players on the radar for international honors past or present. Against San Martin CUBA were so erratic that they were 20-0 down at half time.

June Internationals and Major League Rugby
Major League Rugby will face its greatest challenge during the June international series. More than 20 top players set to miss out on significant action during the month including 18 already confirmed players on the Eagles roster. Still to come later this month is the Canadian squad, which could take further players away from the Seattle Seawolves and the New Orleans Gold, while a handful of others could might themselves on the Junior All-American roster in Week 9.

Andrew Durutalo
The upcoming Rugby Sevens World Cup will be the end of an era. Durutalo is to retire from representative duty. The 30-year-old ends his Eagles career early, doing so to focus on his club career and his family. He retires with 22 test caps to his name and will finish with more than 40 tournament appearances on the HSBC Sevens Series. Durutalo debuted in 2012 and would hold down a starting spot at RWC 2015 . His final cap and only test appearance in 2018 came as a replacement against Canada during the Americas Rugby Championship.

Juan Imhoff
Regulations in European rugby saw Juan Imhoff missing out on a place in the Champions Cup fail for Racing 92 against Leinster this past Saturday. With Argentine players not qualifying under the ‘Kolpak’ ruling he was left out. Playing in France was Axel Müller who scored for Oyonnax in their promotion-relegation clash against Grenoble. Oyonnax’s defeat sees them relegated to the Pro D2.