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

Major League Rugby
It was an historic weekend as Major League Rugby passed another hurdle with the start of it’s second season. Two new teams – Toronto and New York – made their debuts and nearly everything was a step up from season one. The production quality and overall standard of play were noticeably improved and that’s not to speak of the results. Between four matches played the largest margin of victory was only 5 points. Welcome back MLR!

NOLA Gold vs Toronto Arrows
Toronto got off to a terrible start against New Orleans but the expansion side thankfully redeemed themselves in the second half to make for a thrilling end to an entertaining game. Both sides looked to play positive rugby with the high-flying Gold backline looking particularly dangerous. It was a perfect way to kick off the new season and both teams showed they will be a handful for anyone this season.

Sam Windsor
The SaberCats can thank their flyhalf for saving their bacon in their season opener against Austin Elite. Forming an impressive halfback partnership with Uruguay’s Santiago Arata, Windsor controlled the game and in poor conditions slotted a perfect seven-from-seven off the tee. Houston have already matched their win record of the first season.

Rugby United New York
Welcome to the big leagues! In contract with Toronto, New York’s first half could hardly have gone any better as they blew San Diego off the park – only to come crashing down to earth in the second half. It’s clear that some extra fitness is needed but the good news is they have two weeks off to put in the hard yards. The Legion also look an improved side from 2018 with new captain Joe Pietersen one of the standout player of the weekend.

Seattle Seawolves vs Glendale Raptors
What a way to end the weekend. The most anticipated rematch from last season lived up to the hype as the two sides went toe-to-toe for 80 minutes. It got a bit scrappy at the breakdown early but that only serve to add to the tension. The atmosphere was superb and Seattle’s home games have become the gold standard in MLR. If only they could find a solution for those awful field lines…

Richie Walker
It took three tries but the Seawolves finally have a coach. In a remarkable turn of events Anton Moolman’s visa was rejected, as Tony Healy’s had been last year, and Seattle were facing another season with Phil Mack and his senior players group running the show. Instead it’s former Women’s Eagles coach Richie Walker who has stepped in to fill the void in a move that will be a massive relief to the players. He was rewarded with his first win against Glendale on Sunday.

Men’s Eagles Sevens
Make it three Silver finishes in a row for the Men’s Eagles, who made it to the Cup Final once again despite losing star player Perry Baker with a broken jaw in the first match. Fiji again proved superior in the end and the two teams are now in a deadlock at the top of the HSBC Sevens Series standings. One team will push ahead this coming weekend in Sydney. Three Eagles were named to the Dream Team – Ben Pinkelman, Folau Niua, and Carlin Isles.

Canada Men’s Sevens
The rest of the tournament didn’t go their way but Canada did just enough on Day One to get themselves in to a Cup Quarter Final for the first time this season. It’s been a challenging start to the season for Damian McGrath & Co. with several leading players injured but two of them – Phil Berna and Mike Fuailefau – returned in Hamilton and there should be a couple more back for the North American leg.

Folau Niua
It only took him seven years and 62 tournaments but the star playmaker has finally cracked the Dream Team. Niua has been a staple in the Eagles side since his first call-up and is known not just for his flamboyant hairstyle but his dazzling passing skills off both hand. Having celebrated his 34th birthday yesterday he is one of the old men on the circuit now but remains one of the very best in the world at the shortened code.

Jerónimo de la Fuente
The Pumas inside center is the new captain of Los Jaguares. He takes the armband for the Super Rugby side from his international captain Pablo Matera. de la Fuente is highly respected among his peers and one of Argentina’s most consistent players. He got his first chance to lead the side in the one-sided warm-up match against Uruguay in Montevideo.

Benjamín Urdapilleta
There was only one winner in the showdown at Castres. Two leading contenders for the backup Pumas flyhalf spot at RWC 2019 went head-to-head and it was Urdapilleta who came away with his reputation enhanced. The 32-year-old played a key role in both tries and kicked 11 points in the 24-16 win over Clermont Auvergne. His opponent, Pato Fernández, finds himself in the Under category this week.

Nicolás Sánchez
The incumbent Pumas flyhalf was at his best for Stade Français on Saturday. Sánchez scored his first try for his new club and landed four kicks at goal. It wasn’t enough to get the win as Toulon produced a stunning finish at Felix Mayol while Sánchez could only watch from the bench, having been replaced by France international Jules Plisson.

 

UNDER

Chile
Los Cóndores were outclassed by the Argentina XV at La Boya on Wednesday. It’s true we have seen worse scores run up against them in the past, but it’s also true that the Argentines used 30 players in the match and were hardly firing on all cylinders. Once again Chile approaches the Americas Rugby Championship as favorites for the Wooden Spoon and one only hopes that the arrival of Pablo Lemoine will bring some stability and hope for the future.

Uruguay
Los Teros had even less luck against the Jaguares on Thursday, failing to score a single point at the newly renovated Estadio Charrúa. Perhaps it was to be expected. After all this was close to a Pumas equivalent side, but Esteban Meneses would not have been pleased nonetheless. Uruguay will be working hard to restore some confidence ahead of their ARC opener against Canada this weekend.

Perry Baker
The two-time World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year was knocked out of the Hamilton Sevens in the USA’s first match against Tonga. Baker was on the end of a reckless tackle from Tana Fotofili that was only ruled a yellow card by the referee. World Rugby has since ruled that it was a red card offense and Fotofili has been suspended for four games. In the meantime Baker has a broken jaw and is certain to miss the the Sydney tournament with Las Vegas a little more than a month away.

Los Pumas Sevens
Argentina were not short of experience in Hamilton with six Olympians named but they still struggled to make an impact. It may be time to concede that this group is unlikely to challenge for anything meaningful at Japan 2020, and in fact their qualification is not certain with Chile proving in South America earlier this month they are very much capable of an upset. Santiago Gómez Cora has some difficult decisions to make soon.

Patricio Fernández
On the plus side the Argentine flyhalf has a new three-year contract. On the negative it will be with Lyon in the Top 14 instead of the Jaguares. Fernandez has opted for a bigger payday in Lyon but the Pumas selectors were keen to see him in Super Rugby, where his running skills would have been a perfect fit. While he remains in contention for a World Cup spot, his chances took a further blow when he was injured early in the match against Castres while Benjamín Urdapilleta marched to victory.