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

Canada
Despite losing all three of the June tests at home Canada is suddenly well placed to qualify for the 2019 World Cup. This is based on the outcome of RWC Qualifiers this past weekend. Samoa’s 66-15 win over Germany is precisely what Canada was seeking. It means Samoa is virtually assured of qualifying directly for the World Cup and will not go to the Repechage. Elsewhere Hong Kong won 26-3 away to the Cook Islands, and in Africa Namibia and Kenya claimed 63-7 and 45-36 wins over Morocco and Zimbabwe respectively. Surprises cannot be ruled out but those results suggest that Canada will face Germany, Hong Kong, and Kenya in November.

Ontario Arrows
Canada’s lack of professional domestic rugby is on the verge of a breakthrough. The Toronto-based Ontario Arrows have made a formal application to join Major League Rugby for the 2019 season. Having completed an exhibition schedule that proved they could be competitive on the field, the Arrows now look well-positioned to be one of three expansion sides for the new season that will begin in January. Canada’s slide in the World Rankings can at least be partially attributed to their lack of professional options. Should the Arrows get the green light, the tables might at last begin to turn in the other direction.

Jaguares
The great enigma that is Los Pumas and Los Jaguares continues. While Daniel Hourcade coached Argentina to a humiliating 0-3 home series last month, Mario Ledesma has the same players now having won seven straight matches in Super Rugby. The difference in play between the sides is evident – Hourcade plays across the field while Mario Ledesma plays straight ahead. The players are thriving under Ledesma’s leadership and he will be soon revealed as the new Head Coach of Argentina. Saturday’s 25-14 win over the Stormers saw many strong performances with Guido Petti and Bautista Delguy particularly impressive. Gonzalo Quesada, likely to be the new coach in 2019, was in attendance.

Hindú
There is no doubt as to which club is the best in Argentina – Hindú. The Don Torcuato club won their fourth national title (Nacional de Clubes) in as many years on Saturday. They did so by downing Newman 25-0 at Velez Sarsfield in Buenos Aires. Former Pumas were among those featuring for Hindú and together with the club’s young talent they climbed the stadium’s fences post match in celebration with their loyal supporters.

Glendale Raptors, Seattle Seawolves
The Glendale Raptors and Seattle Seawolves will contest the inaugural Major League Rugby Final after recording convincing wins in the Semi Finals on Saturday. Seattle’s 38-24 home win over San Diego featured five tries and a perfect goal-kicking display from Peter Smith. The Raptors won the Colorado vs Utah dual 34-21, also scoring five tries. The two finalists finished the regular season in first and second positions, making their final in San Diego all the more appropriate.

UNDER

San Diego Legion
Torero Stadium will have the honor of hosting the inaugural Major League Rugby Final. Unfortunately for the locals the San Diego Legion will not be involved. The hometown favorites were knocked out of the Semi Finals by the Seattle Seawolves on Saturday. It’s a disappointing result for the Legion, who were tipped by many for a strong season after the addition of numerous international representatives. Instead they will have take in the Final as spectators on their home turf.

Argentina without Juan Imhoff 2015-2017
This past week saw a special edition of ‘Up and Under’ which looked at the best and the worst of Los Pumas under Daniel Hourcade. All of Argentina’s test matches from November 2013 to June 2018 were fixtures of the Hourcade regime. A stand-out feature of the ‘Up’ list is Juan Imhoff. He played in 6 of the 10 key victories, scoring 9 tries in these wins. Included was a hat-trick against South Africa, and a double against Ireland – two leading performances in Pumas history. Imhoff is the undisputed best Argentine winger but his country’s reckless policies have seen him not earning a cap since October 2015. For RWC 2019 it is fair to speculate that Bautista Delguy and Juan Imhoff will be the starting wingers.

Psalm Wooching
The three-times capped Wooching will not be playing in Italy after all. Having signed for Viadana earlier this year the move is off with the club citing ‘physical problems.’ The flanker made his Eagles debut in the 2018 Americas Rugby Championship, doing so after completing a return to rugby following a successful stint playing American football at the University of Washington.

Martín Landajo
Capped in every match during the Daniel Hourcade regime, Landajo would appear to be untouchable. This has not been the case with the Jaguares, with Mario Ledesma preferring Gonzalo Bertranou as his starting scrumhalf in all but one match in 2018. The bells must be ringing in the Landajo household as Ledesma is set to be confirmed as the new Head Coach of Los Pumas. With Tomás Cubelli fit again and the Argentina XV having multiple players of note in the No9 shirt, Landajo is suddenly, far from being guaranteed of a seat on the plane to Japan in 2019.