Up and Under

Up and Under is a weekly exclusive on Americas Rugby News. It reviews the best and worst from games involving the Americas teams over the previous week.

 

UP

Jaguares
In their first assignment of 2020, Los Jaguares were comfortable winners over the Georgia XV. It was a strong start to the year and gives the players plenty of confidence ahead of the season opener against the Lions. The match was played in Mar del Plata in front of an impressive 18,720 supporters.

Lucas Mensa and Rodrigo Fernández Criado
Under orders from Jaguares coach Gonzalo Quesada, Lucas Mensa and Rodrigo Fernández Criado are with Los Jaguares and not Los Ceibos. Both players are now set to receive game time for the Argentine Super Rugby franchise in Friday’s warm-up match against the Georgia XV.

Ceibos
Training is going well for Los Ceibos. The team is well placed to be a competitive outfit in the Súper Liga. Something which transpired off the training field was most notable this past week. The team signed an apparel sponsorship deal with Canterbury. This ends the monopoly of Argentine rugby which has always catered to a single company. Los Pumas, Pumas Sevens, Pumitas, and Jaguares are all sponsored by Nike.

Seattle Seawolves
It was only a training match but it could hardly have gone any better for the two-time defending champions. The Seawolves blanked the Vancouver Island Crimson Tide by a score of 55-0 on Thursday in front of an appreciative crowd at Starfire Stadium. New signings Harry Davies, Ross Neal, and Siti Tamaivena each scored tries with Riekert Hattingh grabbing a double.

Rugby United New York
One of only two MLR sides who opted to stay behind closed doors this weekend, RUNY instead had significant news to offer fans. New Zealand-based private investment company Bolton Equities have purchased a 40% stake in the club to become equal partners with James Kennedy. It adds not only valuable capital to the team but also considerable business expertise from a group that already has experience in professional rugby having been investors in the Blues of Super Rugby fame.

Joe Taufete’e
Despite being the world record holder for tries by a front rower in test rugby, Big Joe has been sorely underappreciated at Worcester with six starts over the past three seasons. Only two of those were in the Premiership. He will now head for pastures new next season in Lyon where he will test himself in the Top 14, arguably the toughest competition in the world for a front row player.

Christian Ostberg
After a long injury layoff, Eagles prospect Christian Ostberg has returned to the field. He made his return for Aurillac in a Pro D2 match against Perpignan on Friday. Aurillac will be happy to have the big Texan back and he makes a timely return. The club is currently in 15th position, one above the bottom, and is in a battle to avoid relegation.

Madison Hughes
The Men’s Eagles captain is set to appear in his 50th World Sevens Series event when the circuit resumes in Hamilton this coming weekend. A strong squad has been named by Mike Friday that also features the returns of Ben Pinkelman and Martin Iosefo after their post-World Cup break.

Anton Petrowitsch
One of Chile’s best players has returned to the country after a spell in Europe. Petrowitsch suited up for the Cóndores at the Mar del Plata Sevens over the weekend, his first international action since November 2018. With lucky the outstanding loose forward will be found on the Selknam roster when it is finally made available.

First ever under-20 Americas Rugby Championship
The best age-grade players in the Americas will now have another level to aim for. Six teams will head to Montevideo in June to play three games each. The opening match will feature Canada against the USA, with the winner advancing directly to the World Rugby u20 Trophy in Spain this September.

 

UNDER

Saracens
Undoubtedly the biggest scandal in English professional rugby has come to a head. European giants Saracens have been relegated from the Premiership for continually breaching the salary cap. Next season they will drop to the RFU Championship and their horde of international starts will be disbanded. It’s a truly shocking turn of events that has called into question not only the leadership of the humiliated club but also Premiership Rugby for failing to act sooner. Three Americas internationals – Juan Figallo, Titi Lamositele, and Kapeli Pifeleti – are facing uncertain futures.

Houston SaberCats
Preseason will matter little when the whistle blows to start the regular season but Houston showed they have work to do after falling to the touring Tasman Mako on Saturday. To be clear, this was Tasman’s development side with only two players who dressed for the Mitre 10 Cup Final win over Wellington. The SaberCats played well in spurts but gave away two easy tries and failed to capitalise on two yellow cards and numerous penalties conceded by Tasman.

Corinthians
Yet again a week has gone by without a single new piece of information on Corinthians Rugby. No contracts have been signed. Brazil Rugby is broke with the administrative team under the command of former CEO Agustín Danza having overspent. The clock is ticking on Brazil’s entry in SLAR.

Selknam
The launch of Selknam is better than Corinthians, yet it is also not ideal. The latest news on the Chilean side is a repeat from previous updates: new information will be released soon. When is soon exactly? Who are the players? What is going to be the match venue? In the meantime Ignacio Albornoz has at least confirmed that he is bound for Santiago.

Jaguares Scrum
Despite a very satisfactory win over the Georgia XV, Los Jaguares have a lot of work to do. The scrum was poor with the days of Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro as the starting loosehead surely now numbered. The veteran was obliterated in multiple scrums. Given his age and the needs of Argentine rugby it is time to make tough decisions.

MLR moves Vegas games to Sam Boyd Stadium
Major League Rugby has made a late switch from Las Vegas Ballpark to Sam Boyd Stadium for its upcoming regular season matches at the neutral site. It’s not the move itself that is a problem. Sam Boyd is a much larger facility and one rugby fans are very familiar with. The timing, however, leaves much to be desired with many fans forced to re-buy tickets and change plans. Something has gone amiss at the planning stage.

World Rugby Law Trial in Americas Rugby Championship
World Rugby has confirmed that a new law will be trialled in the 2020 Americas Rugby Championship, specifically the ’50:22′ kicking experiment. The law itself has come under fire from many corners calling it unnecessary and confusing. The ARC teams will now be expected to play with one set of laws in July, a different set in the ARC, and then back again in November. All with World Rugby Rankings points on the line. This is an utterly ridiculous situation.