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, Colombia Women’s Sevens
An unbeaten tournament in Lima from the Yaras saw Brazil qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. They were easily the best team in the competition and can now focus on lifting their game before appearing in back-to-back Olympic Games events. Colombia finished second in Lima which saw them joining Argentina, Brazil, and Peru in qualifying for the 2019 Pan-Am Games, also to be played in Lima.

USA Men’s Sevens
The Men’s Eagles were in the race until the end against Fiji. A cruel injury to Folau Niua on the opening day set them back, and ultimately the Fijians proved a class apart to win both the Paris tournament and their fourth overall HSBC Sevens Series title. While the 4th place finish in Paris was less than the Eagles wanted, it was still plenty good enough to claim 2nd overall for the season, their best ever finish by three places. They can now rest knowing that Olympic qualification is already secured.

Canada Men’s Sevens
Paris was a mixed bag for the Canadians, who endured a winless opening day to fall into the consolation draw. To their credit, they rebounded on Day Two and won all three matches to lift the Challenge Trophy. With the North American Olympic qualifiers just a few weeks away in George Town, the Trophy victory is a boost to their confidence for a tournament they are considered heavy favorites to win.

Jaguares
A 34-23 win over there Reds on Saturday saw Los Jaguares continuing their excellent season. They are in complete control of the South African conference and have secured a place in the play-off’s with two rounds yet to be played. Both will be home games with Los Jaguares hosting the Sharks, and Sunwolves over the coming weekends. With five points Los Jaguares will be confirmed as having a home Quarter Final, and if they win that, a home Semi Final.

Jaguares Youth
Gonzalo Quesada is a master at player management. His proven expertise coaching Racing 92, Stade Français, and Biarritz has been clear in Super Rugby this season. Players are rotated yet the performances are consistent. He started Lucio Sordoni, Santiago Carreras, and Lucas Paulos against the Reds, all of whom were in the U20’s last year. Mayco Vivas is another regular performer while Domingo Miotti will not remain uncapped for long.

Toronto Arrows
With a 22-20 win over Rugby United New York on Sunday, the Arrows booked their place in the Major League Rugby Semi Finals. A 77th-minute drop goal from Sam Malcolm saved the day as the visitors pushed them to the edge. The win was Toronto’s 7th in a row, tying the MLR record set by Glendale in 2018. Also worth noting was the 3,180 in attendance, a new Arrows record.

Houston SaberCats
The SaberCats put a close to their 2019 campaign with wins over Glendale and Utah. It saw them finish with four consecutive wins under interim coach Paul Emerick, including three in the span of a week. After a poor start to the season, there is plenty to be excited about for Houston fans heading into the 2020 season. A new stadium, new players, and a genuine feeling of hope. Removing the ‘interim’ part of Emerick’s title might be the next step.

San Diego Legion
The Legion underlined their class with a dominant win over New Orleans on Sunday. It knocked the Gold out of the playoffs and secured home field advantage for San Diego throughout the Championship Series. Their next battle will be against New York in the first Semi Final next Sunday.

Seattle Seawolves
Last year’s champions brought their regular season to a conclusion with a 38-26 win over Austin. While some will point fingers at the final minutes that saw them concede three tries to the Elite, at 38-7 the job was done and it was clear Seattle were in cruise control. They will now host Toronto in the second Semi Final on Sunday.

Old Glory DC, New England Free Jacks
The 2020 MLR expansion sides each notched historic first franchise wins on the weekend. Old Glory defeated the USA South Panthers 28-7 at Cardinal Stadium. They have one more match in their exhibition series coming up this weekend against the Ontario Blues. The Free Jacks defeated Irish club side Lansdowne 46-29 at the Irish Cultural Centre. It brought their spring campaign to a close and the team will now begin preparations for their first run as a professional outfit next season.

Tyler Ardron
Ardron and the Chiefs  completed an amazing victory in Fiji on Saturday. Playing against the Crusaders, the Chiefs came back from 20-0 down to complete a 40-27 victory over the top team in Super Rugby. The Chiefs have a bye this coming weekend and face the Melbourne Rebels in the final round.

Axel Müller
Brive secured promotion back into the Top 14 on Sunday. The club did so by defeating Grenoble in the promotion – relegation play-off, and with it they send Grenoble to next season’s Pro D2. Involved in the play-off was Axel Müller. He will join fellow Argentine wingers Juan Imhoff (Racing 92), and Santiago Cordero (Bordeaux) in the 2019-2020 Top 14 competition.

 

UNDER

Glendale Raptors
The 2018 Major League Rugby runners-up had a disappointing end to their 2019 season. The Raptors dropped their three final matches to miss out on a place in this season’s playoffs. The final loss was against the SaberCats last Wednesday. Recruitment will be required to return to their heights of 2018.

Utah Warriors
Having been Semi Finalists in the 2018 Major League Rugby season, the Warriors will also be disappointed with their struggles in 2019. The club finished the season with two wins to be second from bottom, ahead only of the Austin Elite. On the plus their fan base continues to be a source of strength for the team.

NOLA Gold
Table toppers for the majority of the season, NOLA’s season came crashing down on Sunday evening in San Diego. It capped a remarkable fall from grace that saw the Gold drop their last four matches. In the end New York edged them into the Semi Finals by only one point. NOLA were a much better side in 2019 but are again left to ponder what might have been.

Austin Elite
The long struggle has come to an end, and with it the Texan capital city side can begin the debrief of what has been a winless campaign. Changes for next season have already begun with Todd Clever appointed the new Director of Rugby. More are expected to follow both on the staff and playing side.

Juan Imhoff
It is season over for Imhoff. The Argentine winger will not play again following the elimination of Racing 92 from the Top 14 on Friday. Racing 92 played host to La Rochelle and were beaten 19-13. Argentine hooker Facundo Bosch will join La Rochelle next season from Agen. Neither Imhoff, nor Bosch  were named by Mario Ledesma in Argentina’s preliminary roster for RWC 2019.

Martín Landajo
The notable name in the Argentina XV roster for the Nations Cup was Landajo. He and fellow 2019 Jaguares Rodrigo Bruni, Bautista Ezcurra, and Juan Cruz Mallía were all named on the roster. The reason is needed game time ahead of international duty for Los Pumas. Landajo’s chances of making the RWC roster appear slim with Tomás Cubelli, and Felipe Ezcurra both playing very well. Moreover, Gonzalo Bertranou will be back into the mix to complicate matters for the former starting Argentine scrum-half.

World Rugby Player Eligibility
World No2 Ireland named a training roster for RWC 2019 including uncapped players Jean Kleyn and Mike Haley. Kleyn is South African and does not qualify until August. Haley is English and qualifies via an Irish grandparent, but previously played for England Saxons vs South Africa ‘A’. Despite this he remains eligible due to a technicality that saw the match not considered binding. In the wake of Spain’s effective disqualification from the World Cup based on the highly questionable and now defunct practice of considering u20 sides binding, this is an extremely disappointing and inconsistent position that again underlines World Rugby’s flawed eligibility criteria.