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

Jamaica
International competition is underway for 2020. In the first match of the year, Jamaica traveled to Europe and returned home with a 17-15 win over Gibraltar. Officially the match was played with u23 squads, though with this being five years above the adult player age and three above u20 it ought to be classified as a fully capped international test match.

Seattle Seawolves
The reigning MLR champion Seattle Seawolves continue to piece together a monster roster for the 2020 season. The latest names confirmed are Canadian international prop Jake Ilnicki and local scrumhalf Jope Motokana. For the latter it is a second professional contract following his involvement with Sacramento Express in the defunct PRO Rugby.

Olímpia Lions
In order for a new professional rugby team to be competitive it requires a talented roster. The Olímpia Lions were never going to put together a 30+ man roster from Paraguayan players and have, thus far, got the right mix of home players and imports. The team continues to grow with four more Argentine players signing this past week – Nicolás Proto, Thomas Gallo, Máximo Ledesma, and Alejandro Torres.

Ceibos
Argentina’s second professional team is looking very good indeed. Not only does the team crucially have its own identity but it is also based in Córdoba, Argentina’s second largest city, and one far from Los Jaguares in Buenos Aires. The building blocks are very much in place for a successful product. The roster is also proving to be highly impressive with this past week confirming the signings of Leopoldo Herrera, Joaquín Pellandini, and Jerónimo Ureta.

Peñarol
A highly busy week for Peñarol for the Estadio Charrúa confirmed as the team’s home venue and more player announcements. Signed from Tonga were RWC 2019 players Sefo Sakalia and Afa Pakalani. They take the Peñarol roster up to 35 players. Of them 23 are Uruguayans, giving Los Teros a record number of options without considering those playing abroad.

DTH van der Merwe
With the 2010-2019 decade over it has been a busy period for awards. Among them was retired Canadian winger DTH van der Merwe. He was the official top try scorer of the decade in the Pro 14. The 33-year-old, with 61 caps for Canada, scored 57 tries in the Pro 14, making him the deadliest of all finishers in the Celtic-Italian-South African League over the period of 2010-2019.

Chris Wyles
Also acknowledged this past week was Chris Wyles. The former USA Eagles captain was named by Premier Rugby in the Team of the Decade, as the left winger with the most Premiership appearances in England over the 2010-2019 period.

Andrés Zafra
Colombia’s Zafra was a try scorer for Agen in their home match against Lyon on Saturday. The second-rower demonstrated his rugby know-how to complete a try from a charge-down clearance kick. In losing, Agen remain in the relegation zone, five points adrift of Bayonne, Castres, and Pau who are tied for 10th.

Enrique Pieretto, Tomás Lavanini
Pumas Enrique Pieretto and Tomás Lavanini were key players for their teams’ respective wins in the English Premiership this past weekend. In his first start for the Exeter Chiefs, Pieretto played 68 minutes. Lavanini was again in the starting line-up and this time the Leicester Tigers got the win.

 

UNDER

Brazil
2019 was not a good year for Brazil and it sees 2020 beginning in complete damage control mode. The CBRu is in dire straits with massive overspending on the elite players having taken its toll. While Os Tupis came a long way during the RWC 2015-2019 cycle, it leaves the union in poor financial state, and no resources to show for the investment. Brazil’s home games continue to not attract paying supporters and the domestic clubs lack a well-structured league system. Moreover, Paraguay may have been overtaken by Brazil, but Paraguay remain notably superior at junior levels and Paraguay, unlike Brazil, has a national rugby stadium.

Corinthians Rugby
There is now a streak in ‘Under’ as Corinthians are named in the section yet again. The reasons are unchanged – the professional team is yet to get off the ground, no players are known, and the team name is hated for it not being neutral for Brazilians. There are administrative problems, budget problems, and public relations problems. This is a nightmare scenario for a professional team launch.

Leandro Segredo
Uruguayan flanker Leandro Segredo has been ruled out for the season. Requiring surgery, the talented forward will miss the entirety of the inaugural SLAR season and is a serious doubt for international competition in the form of the July Internationals and Americas Rugby Championship. With Juan Manuel Gaminara not playing SLAR it means a massive opportunity for new players to step up.

Andrew Durutalo
Former Eagles back row Andrew Durutalo left English Championship club Ealing Trailfinders this past week. In doing so, he has seemingly ended his professional playing career. The New York born flanker was a 2016 Olympian and a member of the Eagles’ RWC 2015 campaign.

Juan Ignacio Brex
Argentina’s Italian-qualified center, Juan Ignacio Brex is out of action. The mid-fielder was handed a three week suspension following his red card in the Pro 14 Italian derby between Benetton and Zebre. The former Argentina XV center may well complete his transition in 2020 by being capped for Italy in international senior competition.