Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
International competition for 2019 is under two weeks away. With the count-down on it is fitting to look back to 2018. Below are my personal picks for Americas Rugby Top 10 moments of 2018.
10 – Brazil Crowned South American Champions – In 2018 Brazil claimed a first ever South American title. Os Tupis won all three of their matches in the inaugural Sudamérica 6 Naciones A. Wins were recorded against Chile, Colombia, and the Argentina XV. The first two of these were comfortable wins while the triumph over the Argentina XV came Brazil had been 33-3 down at half time. Uruguay also competed in the tournament as the Uruguay XV rather than Los Teros.
9 – Uruguay win Nations Cup – The Argentina XV would not have a good 2018 whatsoever. They would be comfortably beaten by the USA in the Americas Rugby Championship (ARC) and by Uruguay in the Nations Cup. Uruguay were unbeaten in the Nations Cup to claim back-to-back titles. In the tournament Uruguay claimed wins over the Argentina XV, Emerging Italy, and the Fiji Warriors.
8 – Peru win Sudamérica 4 Naciones B – Peru were deserved and convincing winners in the 2018 Sudamérica 4 Naciones B. Los Tumis claimed a 36-14 win over Costa Rica and a 34-0 win over hosts Guatemala. Unfortunately the tournament was reduced at the eleventh hour to a Tri Nations tournament with Venezuela unable to compete after players were denied the necessary visas to travel to Guatemala.
7 – Colombia defeat Paraguay – In September Colombia made history by defeating Paraguay 44-29 in Medellín. It was the first ever win by Los Tucanos over Las Yákares and underlined the extraordinary progress being made by Colombia. In 2004 Paraguay won 79-7 and did so by 82-8 the following year. In subsequent years the deficit would decrease to a loss by 53 points in 2008, 37 in 2012, 10 in 2013, 12 in 2016, and 2 earlier on in 2018. The Americas Rugby Challenge victory was the finest win on record by Colombia.
6 – Uruguay defeat Romania – 2018 marked the first time in which Uruguay claimed victory over Romania. The 27-20 victory came in Bucharest with veteran scrum half Agustín Ormaechea scoring an intercept try in the final play of the match. Earlier on Andrés Vilaseca also scored from an interception. The win came just one week after Uruguay had been thoroughly outclassed by Fiji. It saw Uruguay climbing the world rankings to end the year in a healthy 17th position.
5 – USA defeat Samoa – In November the USA made history by defeating Samoa for the first time. Will Hooley was the hero, nailing a difficult penalty attempt on full-time to secure a 30-29 victory. Both Joe Taufete’e, and Hanco Germishuys crossed for tries while Cam Dolan bagged a double. The Eagles could have won far clearer after they had been leading 15-0. They had to dig deep to recover after Samoa went ahead and ultimately secured a famous victory.
4 – Argentina claim two wins in Rugby Championship – Los Pumas recovered from a disastrous June home series to claim two wins in the 2018 Rugby Championship. It was the most successful return from Argentina in the history of the tournament. Wins came against South Africa in Mendoza and against Australia on the Gold Coast. A third win went begging after a second half meltdown against Australia at home. Had Argentina won the Salta match than perhaps they would rank higher.
3 – USA defeat Scotland – The highlight of the June Internationals is not even in question. The USA’s magnificent 30-29 win over Scotland in Houston marked the first win by the Eagles over a Tier 1 opponent since the 1924 Olympic Games. Two tries to Joe Taufete’e and one to Hanco Germishuys combined with six goals from AJ MacGinty saw the USA claiming their greatest win of the modern era. Many took notice of the result with the Eagles genuinely leaving a lasting impression.
2 – Canada Qualify for RWC 2019 – There were nerves, very real ones in Canada. With the shock series defeat to Uruguay in January and February Canadians were staring into oblivion. There was a genuine fear that Canada may miss out on a RWC for the first time and with it would come huge financial costs in the form of a mass reduction of World Rugby funding. Despite there being three opponents in repechage all eyes were on which European team would be joining Canada in repechage. Romania and Spain’s expulsion eased the task but Canada needed to dig deep to deliver in November.
1 – Uruguay Qualify for RWC 2019 – Uruguay ended 2017 tremendously. Their away series win over Namibia would turn out to be the catalyst for further accomplishments. Wins in Vancouver and Montevideo over Canada saw Uruguay qualifying as Americas 2 for RWC 2019. All the players gave it there all to see Uruguay’s class of 2018 writing their name in history. A highly complicated pool awaits, indeed tougher than Canada’s, yet Uruguay has crucially been afforded nine months longer to prepare. With it Los Teros are far better positioned than in the lead-up to prior RWC tournaments.
