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

Canada Women’s Sevens
A last-gasp try from captain Ghislaine Landry gave Canada a 7-5 win over England in the Cup Final of the Kitakyushu Sevens early Sunday morning. It’s Canada’s first HSBC Sevens Series Cup title since the Sydney Sevens in February 2017 and just their fourth since the Women’s Series began in 2012. Canada occupy 2nd position overall, behind New Zealand, while the USA are third. The Women’s Eagles also placed well by winning the Bronze Final.

Karen Paquin
After a near two-year layoff from international rugby due to injury and almost three years away from the HSBC Sevens Series, Paquin made a triumphant return for Canada this past weekend. It could have have been scripted better. Dream Team selection followed the Cup Final win at Kitakyushu. Now 31, Paquin looks set to push on for her second Olympic Games in 2020 with the 2021 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand also a realistic target.

Chile
For years on end Chile has been a country left in the wilderness for international competition. This, however, is no longer the case. In 2019 Los Cóndores already have 10 confirmed matches and will play host to both Spain and Romania in the June Internationals. This is nothing shirt of revolutionary for a union that had opportunities restricted to just two or three matches per year in the prior RWC cycle.

Pumitas
Argentina’s u20 side completed a 3-0 tour of South Africa. Following on from wins over the Namibia XV and Georgia u20, Argentina’s u20 side claimed an historic 34-33 win over South Africa’s Baby Boks side this past week. With the 2019 World Rugby Junior World Championship less than two months away and the competition taking place in Argentina, Los Pumitas are notably well placed.

USA Rugby and Major League Rugby Alliance
This past week saw USA Rugby formally agreeing to a strategic partnership with Major League Rugby. The deal confirms that not only has MLR received formal sanctioning from USAR, but the two organizations will work closely to drive participation in the USA, form a cohesive high performance pathway, and increase the sport’s greater visibility across the country. Other considerations outlined in the release are player welfare, international release, and shared marketing initiatives.

Seattle Seawolves vs NOLA Gold
Sunday’s match in Seattle could not have been a better advertisement for the league. The sold-out crowd of 3,750 created a superb atmosphere, the officiating was as good as we have seen, and Starfire Stadium finally got it right with some proper rugby lines. Ferocious tackles, great attacking play, big scrums, brilliant kicking from Brock Staller, and a dramatic conclusion. This is the new gold standard of Major League Rugby.

San Diego Legion
The San Diego Legion handed the Glendale Raptors their heaviest-ever defeat in Major League Rugby with a 46-15 win at Torero Stadium on Saturday. Glendale’s defense struggled to deal with the speed and clever moves of the San Diego attack. The big win takes the Legion’s winning run up to four and puts them well and truly in title contention.

Toronto Arrows
It’s a cautious thumbs up for the Arrows, who weren’t at their best but still came away convincing winners over Houston on Sunday. It did get their historic first home win in MLR out of the way and the attendance figure of 1,575 was also seen as a positive considering the unfortunate timing clash with the city’s biggest draw – the Toronto Maple Leafs. The bonus-try win keeps them in the playoff hunt but just barely. It’s do-or-die time against Seattle this weekend.

Pablo Matera
Pumas captain Pablo Matera continues to make headlines for the right reasons. Pablo Matera was the recipient, this past week,  of the Super Rugby Play of the Week award. He earned the praise for his solo try against the Sharks in Durban. Matera’s break, kick, chase, and gather saw him scoring a world-class try.

Titi Lamositele
Into the Semi Finals of the European Champions Cup is Tit Lamositele. The USA Eagles prop started at tight head for Saracens in their win over Munster in Coventry, England on Saturday. The result sees Saracens into the Final next month to face Leinster in the Northern English city of Newcastle.

Bryce Campbell
London Irish have secured their spot in the English Premiership for the 2019-20 season with one round to spare. The 46-7 win over Richmond on Friday assures that they will finish at the top of the Championship table ahead of Ealing, who they they will face in the season finale next Saturday. Eagles midfielder Bryce Campbell got his name on the score sheet with a try late in the first half. He should figure prominently for the USA in RWC 2019.

 

UNDER

Paraguay
Tucumán were far too good for Paraguay, winning a friendly 95-8 on Thursday. The Northern Argentine province played at a great pace to run Paraguay ragged with Pablo Avellaneda running-in a hat-trick. Despite being out performed the Paraguayans did hold an early 8-7 lead.

Liga Sudamericana de Rugby
South America’s professional league, the Liga Sudamericana de Rugby is facing a 2021 start. The competition had been planned to begin in 2020 but is now being pushed-back to begin in 2021. T’he league is to be positioned in the first semester and as such RWC 2019 will be occurring too close to this for the league to begin in 2020. There are additional factors to consider, albeit this alone is sufficient for the project to be pushed back to 2021. Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, and Uruguay are all seeking to field teams in the professional league.

Chilean Club Rugby
Indeed Daniel Hourcade was very busy in the headlines this past week. He noted that “Chilean Rugby is social, without any commitment.” This analysis paints a blunt picture of why Chile has been overtaken by Brazil in recent years, and why turning this around requires fundamental rethinking.

Nations Championship
World Rugby continues to push the creation of a World League. Yet the Nations Championship has firm opposition and a meeting on Tuesday April 16 revealed a disturbing picture for European nations. At the meeting World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont admitted that Europe would be the worse-off region with the proposed economic agreement that is to be set-up under the proposal. There would be no opportunity for either promotion or relegation until 2030 to and from the Six Nations. Georgia is not impressed and has support from others.

Glendale Raptors
How the mighty have fallen. Last year’s finalists are still mathematically in the playoff mix but they suffered a massive psychological blow on Saturday as they were torn apart by the Legion in San Diego. The set piece has been Glendale’s Achilles heal this season and while it’s too late to turn that around this year, it’s an issue that will need to be addressed in the off-season.

Houston SaberCats
Another game, another defeat with barely a whimper from the SaberCats. They can point to an improved scoreline but all of their points came in a span of 15 minutes in the middle of the game. The rest was entirely forgettable and with no more bye weeks, there are harder days ahead for Houston.

Santiago Cordero
The Americas man of the 2019 in England is injured. Santiago Cordero is on ice having been injured playing on April 14 in the English Premiership. He is now in a race against time to return to fitness this season. It is hoped that he will be able to place for the Exeter Chiefs against the Northampton Saints on May 18 in the final round match of the regular season.

Matías Moroni, Ramiro Moyano
There was no Super Rugby match for Los Jaguares this past weekend and just as well as the team continues to nurse players. Ramiro Moyano missed the prior fixture against the Sharks while Matías Moroni has been declared in joining him in not being fit for the next match against the Brumbies. Of the specialist wingers with full-time contracts only Emiliano Boffelli is fit.