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

Uruguay
Despite RWC 2019 having only recently finished there is no rest time for Uruguay. The strategic plan is underway with the goals being for Uruguay to qualify for RWC 2023 and to, as in RWC 2019, perform well. Extending the contract of Head Coach Esteban Meneses for the duration of the new cycle marks a key accomplishment.

Aruba Beach Rugby
Teams from France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Trinidad & Tobago, Germany, Curacao, and Aruba were involved in the first-ever Aruba International Beach tournament this past weekend. Played at the Joe Laveist Stadium the competition underlines the growth of rugby.

Old Christians Club
Uruguay’s national champions for 2019 are Old Champions Club. The Montevideo club defeated rivals Old Boys 43-13 in a final which was packed with Uruguayan test players. Santiago Arata was one of a number of RWC players involved. He scored a hat-trick for Old Christians Club.

Major League Rugby Signings
Signing for the 2020 Major League Rugby season have been coming non-stop. This past week they included Rene Ranger for the Colorado Raptors; Valdemar Lee-Lo for the Houston SaberCats; Max Lum and Will Vakalahi for Old Glory DC; Cam Dolan, and James Irey for NOLA Gold; Mike Petri, James Rochford, Trevor Cassidy, Mike St. Claire and Connor Wallace-Sim for RUNY; Tevita Tameilau for San Diego; Stephan Coetzee and Jérémy Lenaerts for the Seattle Seawolves; and Franco van den Berg, Angus MacLellan, Kalolo Tuiloma, Dwayne Polataivao and Veremalua Vugakoto for the Utah Warriors.

DTH van der Merwe
In the European Champions Cup Canada’s all-time leading try-scorer DTH van der Merwe was a match-winner. He went over for a 35th minute score for the Glasgow Warriors who were 13-7 winners over the Sale Sharks. Also scoring was AJ MacGinty, the Eagles fly half landed a conversion.

Santiago Fernández
Former Puma Santiago Fernández scored all 18 points for Hindú in Saturday’s Nacional de Clubes Final. With it he and his teammates were crowned Argentine champions for 2019. He played in his RWC 2011 position of fly half and did so against Nicolás Vergallo who was the Argentina no 9 in that tournament. Both players were starters in the historic first Rugby Championship Pumas side and both returned to Argentina following professional careers in France.

Enrique Pieretto
The latest departing Jaguar for Europe is Enrique Pieretto. The tight head was the second-choice for Los Jaguares in 2019, where he started in four games and was a replacement in 13 others. He was the third choice for Argentina at RWC 2019. His move to the UK will be a boost to his career and also unlock a place for another player. Luciano Sordoni is the probable benefactor.

Tony Lamborn
On his way to Super Rugby in 2020 is USA Eagles flanker Tony Lamborn. The 28-year-old is one of eight loose forwards in the Auckland-based franchise. Lam born previously played for the Hurricanes and was involved with the Melbourne Rebels though did not receive game time. He played for both San Diego Legion and NOLA Gold in Major League Rugby.

UNDER

Chile
Los Cóndores were unlucky against Portugal. Having been in the lead for the majority of play they lost with four minutes remaining, doing so via an interception. The defeat brings to a close a disappointing 2019 in which Paraguay is the one country that Chile defeated. The creation of the Súper Liga Americana ought to provide Chile with a pathway to progression.

Benjamín Soto
Announcing his retirement was Benjamín Soto. From Universidad Católica Soto earned 44 caps for Chile, retiring from international duty at the age of 32. His lengthily career has seen him earning caps against Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Kenya, Paraguay, Portugal, Romania, South Korea, Spain, Uruguay, and the USA.

Santiago García Botta
Former 32-time Puma Santiago García Botta had a long match in the European Champions Cup on Saturday. Playing for the Harlequins against Clermont the 27-year-old was bullied and battered in the scrum by Rabah Slimani.

Pumas Captaincy
The knives are out for Pablo Matera. With just 11 caps as captain of Argentina there are calls for Los Pumas to have a new skipper in 2020. The criticism is due to him having departed Los Jaguares to continue his career with Stade Français. If a Jaguares player were to be the national captain then the leading names coming out of Argentina are center Jerónimo de la Fuente, and scrum-half Tomás Cubelli.

Jaguares Roster Announcement
Teams are announcing their rosters for the 2020 Super Rugby season but Los Jaguares is not among them. The recent contracts of Felipe Ezcurra, and Santiago Grondona were part of a slow process as many names are unconfirmed. Will Ramiro Moyano play in 2020 or is he moving to Europe? Will Santiago Chocobares, Francisco Gorrissen, Ignacio Mendy, and Franco Molina be signed?