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

Americas presence in Europe
An impressive 39 Americas players have been registered for the premier European club competitions kicking off this weekend – the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup. Five countries are represented with Argentina providing more than half followed by the USA, Canada, and one each from Colombia and Uruguay. Some took the field over the opening weekend with others set to make their mark later in the competition.

Brazil Rugby
Brazil have confirmed the names of nine internationals that will travel north to participate in a Major League Rugby combine at Infinity Park beginning on October 21. The names include Brazil’s top players from the Americas Rugby Championship. The combine will culminate in a trial match on October 27 between a ‘Rugby Americas XV’ and the Glendale Raptors. Also making the news is confirmation that an historic agreement has been signed that will see Brazil’s match against the New Zealand Māori in São Paulo streamed live by social media giant Twitter, a deal that will see Brazilian rugby reach a record audience next month.

Samoan Rugby
This must be one of the most exciting weeks in Samoan rugby in some time. On Sunday the Americas Pacific Challenge title was won by Samoa ‘A’ in convincing fashion over hosts Uruguay ‘A’. They had defeated Pacific rivals Tonga ‘A’ earlier in the week. The first Manu Samoa squad under new coach Steve Jackson was named with a trio of new caps, and just over a week ago the nation was given their first seat on the World Rugby Council. Now under discussion is the addition of a professional team in Australia’s National Rugby Championship, a competition that has been boosted by the success of the Fijian Drua. Samoa will play the USA in Spain next month.

Argentina XV
After their disappointing loss to Samoa ‘A’ in the opening week the Argentina XV returned to form against their North American opponents. They smashed Canada ‘A’ mid-week and put the USA Select XV to the sword on Sunday. It’s been a poor year for Argentina’s development side as a whole, one that sees them lifting no silverware for the first time since being expanded in 2016. Expect to see changes in team policy next year, with the constant chopping and changing of the team from game to game and tournament to tournament to be replaced by a more stable playing group.

Canada ‘A’
It doesn’t seem right to put the team in ‘Up’ after their dismal performance against the Argentina XV mid-week, but their win over Tonga ‘A’ on Sunday must be recognized. The joy on the players’ faces at the final whistle was a clear indication of the lack of confidence in Canadian rugby at the moment. To come back from 15 points down showed character, however, and there is reason to be hopeful with a dozen overseas professionals set to boost the squad for the World Cup Qualifiers next month.

Atlantic Canadian Rugby
The PEI Mudmen are Senior Men’s Maritime Champions. They defeated the Fredericton Loyalists in Charlottetown on Saturday to bring the Caledonia Cup to Canada’s smallest province for the first time since 1955. Suiting up for the Mudmen were Atlantic Rock duo Liam Carter and Alex Forrest, the latter of whom will play for the Ontario Arrows in their historic clash against the New England Free Jacks in Halifax on Saturday. Also looking to make a claim for a spot in Major League Rugby are Nova Scotian trio Moe Abdelmonem, Grant Crowell, and Cooper Coats.

World Rugby Referee Appointments
World Rugby is not taking any chances with the World Cup Repechage after the Rugby Europe fiasco in Brussels. Assigned to the last-chance qualification tournament are World Rugby’s most experienced test referees, all of whom officiated at the 2015 World Cup. Canada has drawn Wayne Barnes for their opening round match against Kenya on November 11. Luke Pearce will be in the middle for the second round match against Germany, with Romain Poite handling the third contest against Hong Kong. TMO’s have been assigned to all matches.

Kate Zackary
The 29-year-old flanker is the new captain of the Women’s Eagles. Zackary will lead the side on their three-match November campaign. New coach Rob Cain has selected a young group with just eight other members of the 2017 World Cup team. Of the 34 players on the roster an extraordinary 20 have yet to win their first caps at senior level.

New Orleans Gold
It’s been a memorable week for the Gold, who added former Manu Samoa lock Kane Thompson and Australia Sevens star Con Foley to their roster. This follows up the previous week’s addition of Australian halfback Scott Gale and South African three quarter Tristan Blewett. With more signings to be unveiled this week, New Orleans are ready to make a splash in the 2019 MLR season.

Eduardo Bello, Juan Ignacio Brex
The two exiled Argentines have returned from injury and are swiftly making an impact for their Italian club sides. Bello’s Zebre team were well beaten by Glasgow but the tighthead prop was prominent in over an hour’s work and should be a regular in the side now that he is back to fitness. The power of Brex has been missing from the Benetton Treviso side. His return helped the team cruise to victory over the Southern Kings.

 

 

UNDER

Pumas Loosehead Props
It’s close to a crisis now for Los Pumas in the front row. First choice loosehead Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro has undergone surgery to correct instability in his right shoulder. No official window of recovery has been given but he is a major doubt for the tour with a likely return not until the Super Rugby preseason. Javier Díaz remains sidelined until the new year with a knee injury, leaving Santiago García Botta as the only loosehead with any test experience at all left for the games against Ireland, France, Scotland, and the Barbarians. Mario Ledesma could ask Juan Pablo Zeiss to cover on the unfamiliar left side, or may reach into Europe to recall Lucas Noguera Paz from Bath.

USA Select XV
There were a number of new faces in the USA’s second senior side, and given the presence of several MLR players it was expected the team would be competitive. Instead the team came in dead last with not even a bonus point to speak of. They wilted in the final quarter against Uruguay ‘A’ and were crushed by the Argentina XV on Sunday. Relatively few players put their hands up for Eagles selection next month. Of those that did Ryan Matyas looked a class apart and after missing out on the June tests should earn a recall on the upcoming European tour.

Uruguay ‘A’
After strong wins over Canada ‘A’ and the USA Select XV, hosts Uruguay went into the APC final as favorites but instead fell short to Samoa ‘A’. The loss of star halfback Santiago Arata before kickoff was a blow to confidence but that alone cannot be blamed for the defeat. Uruguay looked good at times but made too many mistakes and allowed the Samoans to dictate possession. The third-place finish is still respectable, however, and several Uruguayans are set to travel to the MLR combine in Glendale next week. After that, a four-game trip to Europe in November.