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

Colombia
Los Tucanes made a massive statement in Medellín in humbling Paraguay 43-13 on Saturday. It came following leading 12-6 at half time and means Colombia has back-to-back wins over Los Yákares. Having lost by margins of 75 points fifteen years ago this is nothing short of extraordinary. Colombia is officially now better than Paraguay.

Uruguay XV
The Uruguay XV outperformed the South American champions on Saturday, winning 38-19 in Osasco, Greater São Paulo. The victory over Brazil sees the Uruguay XV well positioned with a 2-0 record in the Sudamérica 6 Naciones A. The match underlined the potential of Uruguay with depth that previously simply did not exist.

Argentina XV
In addition to the Uruguay XV the Argentina XV are also unbeaten with one match left to play in the Sudamérica 6 Naciones A. The Argentina XV were far too good for Chile on Saturday, claiming a 55-3 home win in Tucumán. The majority of those involved are to be on the roster for the Jaguares XV for the Currie Cup.

Jaguares
In Wellington, New Zealand Los Jaguares made history on Friday. The Argentine Super Rugby franchise defeated the Hurricanes for the first time. The result increases the chances of appearing in the play-off’s, and doing so in back-to-back years. Overall both Gonzalo Quesada, and Mario Ledesma will be very happy with the players with an eye to the RWC.

Houston SaberCats
In the upset of the MLR season, the SaberCats got it together to defeat the Gold in New Orleans on Saturday. Their win comes too late for a chance to reach the Semi Finals but with remaining matches against Austin and Utah, the team is in a good place to finish their troublesome campaign on a high.

San Diego Legion
It wasn’t their best game, but the Legion came through their Salt Lake test in convincing fashion as they outscored their host Utah Warriors by five tries to three. The result puts them five points head of NOLA on top of the MLR table and San Diego are now virtually assured of their place in the Semi Finals.

Old Glory DC
The soon-to-be MLR expansion side played their historic first ever match against Irish club Shannon on Sunday evening. While they didn’t quite get the result they wanted in the 26-22 defeat, DC will be enormously pleased with the occasion, not least the support as more than 2,300 showed up to cheer on their new professional rugby team.

Martín Bustos Moyano
The unexplainable occurred in France on Saturday as Bayonne came back from a 27-9 deficit to defeat Oyonnax and book their place in the Pro D2 Final. Central to the comeback was former Puma Martín Bustos Moyano. With 12 points he helped the Basque’s to within 80 minutes of a return to the Top 14. Also winning was Axel Muller who did so for Brive, Bayonne’s opponent in the Pro D2 final next weekend. Muller was yellow carded in Sunday’s win over Vannes.

AJ MacGinty
The Sale Sharks completed their English Premiership season on Saturday. They did so by beating Gloucester in an amazing match by 46-41. 18 of the points were scored by USA Eagles fly half AJ MacGinty. The form of MacGinty this season has been impressive and the Eagles are set to benefit greatly with him in Japan 2019.

DTH van der Merwe
Making an early return from injury this past weekend was DTH van der Merwe. The Canadian speedster came back for the Glasgow Warriors to play against Ulster in a Pro 14 Semi Final. The Scottish side were victorious and will meet Irish province Leinster in the final in Glasgow.

UNDER

Brazil
The second edition of the Sudamérica 6 Naciones A will have a different champion to that of the first. The 2018 champions, Brazil were outplayed by the Uruguay XV on Saturday to have a 1-1 record while both the Uruguay XV, and the Argentina XV are 2-0 with one round left to play. Brazil’s home defeat had seen them leading 12-0 early yet thereafter they barely fired a shot.

Chile
Los Cóndores were no match for the Argentina XV on Saturday. While the result was far from their biggest defeat against their eastern neighbors the result was one which administrators certainly were not looking for. Chile’s continued problems in closing the gap on Argentina’s next of XV must surely be a central theme in planning for the 2020-2023 cycle.

Paraguay
Losing by 30 points to Colombia is an indication of just how dire the situation Paraguay faces is. Los Yákares are vastly more experienced yet have been overtaken by a newcomer, and are now facing the prospect of three straight test match losses in the Sudamérica 6 Naciones A. Chile will be highly excited about their prospects this coming Saturday in Asunción.

Glendale Raptors
In their final home match of the season the Glendale Raptors fell to a committed Seattle Seawolves outfit. The 53-36 loss casts serious doubt of the side competing in the Semi Finals. They have both of their remaining matches on the road. With those fixtures being against the Toronto Arrows and Houston SaberCats, they now have their backs to the wall.

NOLA Gold
Playing at home on Saturday NOLA Gold were the heavy favorites to defeat the Houston SaberCats. The match did not go to script as the home side were outperformed and are now tied by the San Diego Legion for top spot in the MLR standings. Their match away to RUNY this coming weekend will be vital to the make-up of the play-off’s for both clubs.

Rugby United New York vs Austin Elite
Despite RUNY getting the bonus point win they needed, we just can’t give this match a passing grade. For large stretches of the match both teams performed basic skills poorly. It was the least compelling match of the weekend, and by a distance. New York did not give off the impression that they were a team destined for post-season glory and must improve dramatically this coming weekend with a much more dangerous opponent in NOLA on the way.

Manuel Leindekar
Uruguayan Manuel Leindekar looked set to be in the Pro D2 Final. Instead Oyonnax imploded to Bayonne on Saturday, a result which sees the season over for Oyonnax. It is great news for Uruguay as Leindekar can now rest up ahead of international activity before and at RWC 2019. However it also means he will not be playing next season in the Top 14.