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

Panama
Panama mounted a second half come back to topple Honduras on Saturday in Tegucigalpa. The 39-27 victory came after Honduras had been leading 20-12 at half time. For Panama it was a dream start to the 2018 Centroamericano, the rebranded version of the South American C Championship. Honduras now travel to EL Salvador to play this coming Saturday against El Salvador. Panama, meanwhile, have ample time to prepare for their home match against El Salvador on Saturday August 25.

Canada Women’s u20
Canada won game one but lost game two at the u20’s Women’s Tri-Nations Cup. Leading the way against the USA was captain Sophie de Goede with four tries. Canada won their opening match 36-12. Canada took on England in game two who the USA’s next match is coming up on Tuesday against England. In Canada’s match against England a dominant first half led England to a 36-22 victory, but Canada outscored their opponents 22-17 over the last 50 minutes.

Chile
The historic Chile vs Maori All Blacks fixture has been confirmed for the Estadio San Carlos de Apoquindo. Located in the Las Condes district of Santiago the Estadio San Carlos de Apoquindo is a soccer stadium owned by the Club Deportivo Universidad Católica. The venue has a seating capacity of 15,000 for sport though has hosted 20,000 for concerts. Los Cóndores are to also play at home against Belgium in November. The venue is yet to be confirmed.

Juan Figallo
The European-club blockade has ended. For the first time since RWC 2015 a player contracted on a full-time basis in Europe will play for Los Pumas. Head Coach Mario Ledesma has officially ended the policy as Juan Figallo is back for Argentina. The Saracens tighthead is the the only European-based player in the roster named by Ledesma. To join later is Ramiro Herrera while, depending on performances, additional players could yet be added during the season. Figallo last played for his country in RWC 2015.

Pablo Matera
Pablo Matera was named in the Super Rugby 2018 Team of the Season. The Jaguares captain was named by the Opta Index as the leading #6 flanker in Super Rugby. In naming Matera in the team the Opta Index noted that: (Matera) won 13 turnovers (five more than he conceded) and was one of just three players to average 10+ carries and 10+ tackles per game. He is a player certain to do well in the upcoming Rugby Championship.

Jaguares
Gonzalo Quesada Returns from 19 Years in France To Be Head Coach of Jaguares. The 44-year-old will take charge of the Argentine Super Rugby franchise in 2019. Quesada replaces RWC 1999 and 2003 teammate Mario Ledesma, the latter now being Argentina’s Head Coach. The arrival of the Quesada regime is nothing short of a genuine transformation for Argentina. Ledesma’s professionalism in his one season at Los Jaguares was well documented by the players. Quesada brings with him even more experience and is a genuine option to one day become Los Pumas’ Head Coach.

UNDER

Canada
The Canada Selects were beaten by Castres on Saturday. Played at the Stade de la Balmette in Lacaune, France the 2018 Top 14 champions defeated the Canadians 47-17. The match was the first of two games in France for the Canada Selects. The national ‘next of XV’ is preparing for RWC 2019 Repechage by touring France. The Canadians faced one of their own, Taylor Paris on Saturday. In game two they are to face Clermont on Friday.

Jeff Hassler
Jeff Hassler is stepping away from rugby. Approaching his 27th birthday the Canadian winger has returned home after a brief trial with English Premiership club Harlequins. While not ruling out a return to the game in the future, Hassler has opted to instead pursue other interests for the time being. It is a massive blow for Canada who are now without one of their top professionals ahead of the all-important World Cup Repechage qualifiers in November. Luckily wing is were Canada has options with DTH van der Merwe and Taylor Paris both playing in top division European sides.

Canadian Rugby Championship
The CRC – senior men’s edition – continues its slide deep into a state of disrepair. In recent weeks we must again question its relevancy to the Senior Men’s team. With no dedicated administrator or executive committee a comical situation occurred last week where the criteria for seeding was unclear to competitors and media alike. On top of this the Eastern teams were forced to play each other on two days rest, absent numerous national representatives in the second leg. This will again be the case in Calgary where all four teams will play two matches in four days. Ideally the CRC should have a major role in a robust competition pathway but a major overhaul is long, long overdue. A year on the shelf might be in order to find adequate funding and restore what was once a noteworthy event.

Nicolás Freitas
Nicolás Freitas has been ruled out of November Internationals. The Uruguayan winger has undergone surgery on his right shoulder and will require six months of recovery. The 25-year-old player from Carrasco Polo club in Montevideo has been among the leading Teros backs in recent seasons. He was a stand-out in the series win over Namibia last November and carried his form over to the RWC qualifiers against Canada. Freitas’ surgery will see him return to top shape in time for 2019. The year will begin with the Americas Rugby Championship (ARC) and culminate with the RWC in Japan.

Julián Montoya
On the eve of departing for South Africa Argentina lost Julian Montoya. The second-choice hooker will not play in round one of the Rugby Championship and is highly unlikely to play in round two. This sees captain Agustín Creevy now having the uncapped Diego Fortuny as his understudy. Fortuny played once for Los Jaguares this year, as a replacement against the Stormers. His call-up comes despite there being three excellent hookers playing in Europe. Tomás Baravalle (Benetton Treviso, Facundo Bosch (Agen), and Santiago Socino (Newcastle Falcons) were all regulars in the 2017-2018 European season.

World Rugby Player Eligibility 
Yet again World Rugby has created massive problems for itself in regards to player eligibility. Following the expulsion of Tahiti, Spain, and Belgium from RWC Qualifiers and Romania from RWC 2019 itself World Rugby have decided that Australia is free to select Toni Pulu if deserved. Born in the USA, Pulu moved to New Zealand aged 3 and would play sevens for Niue at a World Rugby event, an identical case to Romanian center Sione Faka’osilea who played two years later in the same tournament as did Pulu. World Rugby explained that Pulu was never eligible for Niue and therefore was not captured. This is simply a slap in the face to both Romania and Spain. Add to this a player such as Isa Nacewa whose 2 minutes for Fiji captured him, preventing playing for the country he was born and raised in, New Zealand. World Rugby ruled against him in 2004, and did not consider his case to have any credibility whatsoever.