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

Brazil Women’s Sevens
Brazil will return as a core team on the 2019-20 HSBC Women’s Sevens Series after claiming victory at the Hong Kong Core Qualifiers. The Yaras won all six of their games against five different opponents to regain their spot on the circuit after a two-year absence. It’s a welcome boost to the region and just rewards for the hard work of coach Reuben Samuel and his charges.

USA Men’s Sevens
For a fifth consecutive year Fiji were crowned Kings of Hong Kong, but a third-place finish for the USA means they retain their first overall position. The Eagles can now clinch their spot in the 2020 Olympics with a good performance in Singapore. In reality it would take an unprecedented turn of fortunes for them to miss out on a top-four finish now. There are three tournaments left to make make history – in the meantime preparations for Tokyo can begin now.

Barbados
Barbados powered past Curaçao on Saturday, winning 55-7 at the Garrison Savannah. The match was the third, and final, fixture in the 2019 Rugby Americas North (RAN) South Cup. In winning Barbados finish with a 1-1 record. Martinique defeated both Barbados and Curaçao to top the table of the RAN South Cup.

Jaguares
Replacement fly half Domingo Miotti scored twice to see Los Jaguares to a 22-20 win over the Bulls in Pretoria. The result was just the third win from the Argentine side in South Africa. Miotti is now favored to replace veteran Santiago González Iglesias as the starting 10 against the Sharks.

Argentina Join Currie Cup
The worst kept secret was made official this past week. South Africa Rugby confirmed that Argentina will compete in the 2019 Currie Cup. Argentina’s side will be called the Jaguares XV and it is to compete in the First Division, which is in actuality the second division behind that of the Premier Division. The team will be named the Jaguares XV and will be coached by Argentina XV head man Ignacio Fernández Lobbe.

Major League Rugby Expansion
The 2020 MLR season will be a 12-team competition with three new teams – Boston (New England Free Jacks), Washington DC (Old Glory), and Atlanta (Rugby ATL). A new conference system is expected to be unveiled in the coming days while next season is set to start in mid-February to help avoid the abject weather conditions that have plagued some of this year’s early matches. It’s a positive sign for the long-term future of the league.

Toronto Arrows vs NOLA Gold
The result didn’t quite go the way of the home side but the 3,081 in attendance for the first Major League Rugby game in Canada was a hugely promising sign. Fans were treated to an absorbing contest that came down to the final moments. With seven home games still to go, hopes are high that the support continues for the Arrows and there will be plenty of interest in seeing the response when the team moves downtown to the 9,600-capacity Lamport Stadium in May.

Glendale Raptors
It’s not all good news for the Raptors, after all they did concede 44 points with their scrum in tatters for much of the match. They must get credit for their composure in the face of a 32-point deficit, however, and seeing it through to the end. There is much work to do for Dave Williams & Co. but pulling the victory from the fire will be pleasing for the coach.

San Diego Legion
The Legion put on a show for their Legionnaires as they put Austin to the sword by 45-15 on Sunday evening. It was a near-identical result to the game at Dell Diamond in February, and the bonus point win comes at a crucial time as the playoff race heats up. Their high-flying offense will be put to the test in New York this coming weekend.

Psalm Wooching
Man of the match in San Diego was the Legion’s hard-hitting blindside flanker. Wooching slipped out of sight somewhat last year after skipping out on the inaugural MLR season and losing his proposed move to Italy. After missing the opening weeks of the season he has returned from injury in a big way, putting in some eye-catching performances for the Legion in recent weeks. A place in the World Cup squad is now within reach again for the impressive athlete.

AJ MacGinty
23 points from the boot of MacGinty saw the Sale Sharks outperforming the Harlequins on Friday. The USA Eagles playmaker slotted seven penalties and also converted his team’s one try. His outstanding Premiership form is great news for Eagles fans, who will look to their start player to guide them in their World Cup campaign later this year.

Santiago Cordero
It is hard to argue against Cordero being the form Argentine outside back in 2019. The 25-year-old has been terrorizing opposition defenses in the Premiership. Against the Leicester Tigers on Saturday he crossed for a second half try. He is on the shortlist for Premiership Player of the Month for the third consecutive month.

Benjamín Urdapilleta, Facundo Bosch
Also in red-hot form in Europe is Benjamín Urdapilleta. The veteran Argentine fly half slotted three penalties and a drop goal to guide Castres to a home win over La Rochelle on Saturday. It’s hard to see how he is left out of the World Cup squad given the lack of alternatives to back-up Nicolás Sánchez. Also looking likely is the versatile Facundo Bosch. He was a try scorer for Agen against Montpellier on Saturday, playing both hooker and openside flanker in the match.

 

UNDER

Chile Sevens
Chile’s dream of HSBC Sevens Series Core qualification ended as they fell to Hong Kong in a tense Semi Final by 7-5. Francisco Urroz put the Cóndores ahead with an early try but hometown favorite Kam Shing Yiu replied with Russell Webb’s conversion proving the difference. Ultimately Ireland would go on to secure the Core spot.

Canada Men’s Sevens
It was an abysmal tournament for Canada’s men’s side in Hong Kong. Head coach Damian McGrath was under no illusions, labeling it “the worst tournament we’ve played since I began coaching Canada.” Nothing seemed to go right with a shutout loss to a poor Kenya side a low point for the team. The good news is that the Olympics are now within touching distance – thanks to the help of their neighbors to the south. A chance for an immediate rebound will come in Singapore this coming weekend.

Band Saracens
São Paulo’s state championship is the leading force in Brazilian rugby. The competition is responsible for the unearthing of many test players and teams from the state far-and-away dominate those in the National Championship. One of those is Band Saracens who were an absolute abomination on Saturday, losing 163-0 against São José.

Utah Warriors
Having held a strong half-time lead the Utah Warriors would somehow fall to a 48-36 home defeat against the Seattle Seawolves on Friday. Having struggled early Seattle would eventually find their combinations to overcome the Warriors’ 12-point lead just after the break. Next weekend sees a tough assignment as the Warriors play away to NOLA Gold.

Houston SaberCats
Things looked so very different in the first half for the SaberCats. Their scrum had Glendale on roller skates and everything seemed to bounce their way. A 32-point lead, however, was evidently not enough. Houston crashed in the second half, with their body language on the final try that of a team well and truly defeated. They will need to scrape some confident together in record fashion as they host the Seawolves at the brand new AVEVA Stadium on Saturday.

Austin Elite
It’s a bit of a broken record at this point – Austin have lost again. It’s now 12 defeats in a row for the embattled Elite, dating back to last season. Against San Diego on Sunday they were nowhere. Poor execution was at the heart of it, with an abject kicking display and countless handling errors. It doesn’t get any easier this week as they head to Toronto face a frustrated Arrows side who will be out for blood.

Ray Barkwill
A significant blow to Canada’s RWC 2019 campaign has arrived. Canada’s most-capped hooker of all-time has been forced into retirement. Just months out from what would have been his international swan song in Japan, Barkwill has confirmed he is stepping away from the field with immediate effect due to a brachial plexus injury sustained during November’s World Cup Repechage competition.

Patricio Fernández
The season is over for Pato Fernández. With him joining Lyon next season he will not play again for Clermont again. While there are no shortage of calls for Fernández to be considered for Los Pumas the reality is that it will be 2020 at the earliest before he is able to add to his prior two test caps.

Ramiro Moyano
The Jaguares winger has been ruled out of facing the Sharks this coming weekend. Moyano was injured against the Bulls and requires scans in Buenos Aires to determine when he will play next. It is highly concerning for Gonzalo Quesada who has lost his other starting winger, Bautista Delguy, for the season.