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

Russia RWC 2027 bid
Confirmed to be bidding for Rugby World Cup 2027 is Russia. The Rugby Europe Championship participants are set to compete against Australia for the hosting rights, and look to be presenting a strong case. An unofficial hosting model was sent to ARN that includes a comprehensive match schedule with room for 24 teams. World Rugby have not yet confirmed the number of teams for 2027 or 2031 but the calls for expansion of the flagship competition are ever growing.

Uruguay
Uruguay is leading the way in the Americas return to action following the long interruptions due to COVID-19. In Week 1 of their domestic championship reigning champions Old Christians impressed with a 61-5 win over Los Ceibos. Carrasco Polo also won by an impressive scoreline, 57-15 over Seminario featuring sublime play from Teros winger Nicolás Freitas.

Los Teros in Uruguay de Clubes
A special agreement enables Uruguay’s professionals to turn out for their amateur clubs. In all 9 of the 11 teams have such players. Carrasco Polo’s are Freitas, Felipe Etcheverry, and JuanJuan Garese from Peñarol and Rodrigo Silva from the Austin Gilgronis. The club with the highest number is Old Boys with Peñarol providing Baltazar Amaya, Juan Manuel Cat, Santiago Civetta, José Iruleguy, Maxime Sonneveld, and new Teros captain Andrés Vilaseca.

Concepción
Concepción’s High Performance Rugby Center is ready. With it the central-south region of Chile now has a production unit for the purposes of junior and senior rugby. Some 37 players will begin training at the new center in Concepción. It is to be one of four in the country. The importance of this measure cannot be understated as Chile has long been a leader in the junior categories, but has struggled to replicated this at the seniors.

Paul Lasike
An impressive performance from Lasike saw him scoring twice for Harlequins against Saracens. The Eagles midfielder came off the bench to cross in the 59th and 74th minutes. Prior to Lasike entering the match Quins were well behind. While they could not make up the difference, the two tries added respectability to the scoresheet. Lasike’s performance ought now see him elevated into the starting lineup. He was an unused replacement in the first match of the restart.

Eduardo Bello
The Pro 14 season resumed on Friday. In what was a round of derbies the battle of the Italians saw Benetton Treviso taking on Zebre. Both teams ha Argentine players involved. Starting for Zebre was Eduardo Bello. The prop started at tighthead for the team who were 17-13 winners. Now aged 25, the former Argentina XV player has matured as a player and will be closely watched by Pumas selectors.

Ivan Nemer, Joaquín Riera
Friday’s Italian derby was also notable for two other Argentine players. Nemer made his debut in the Pro 14, doing so days after signing for Benetton. He joined Tomás Baravalle in the starting front-row and started opposite Bello. Playing in the midfield was Riera. The former Pumas Sevens standout was a try-scorer for Benetton in their narrow defeat.

Ram and Roura headline MLR signings
A pair of international loose forwards headlined this past week’s Major League Rugby signings. Tonga’s Jack Ram and Pumas Sevens regular Conrado Roura will join the New England Free Jacks and Dallas Jackals respectively for the coming season. Five players secured contract extensions, and promising front rower Jonas Petrakopoulos has made the move from New York to Atlanta.

MLR Players in Shute Shield
Nearly a dozen players with MLR connections have suited up in Sydney’s Shute Shield over the opening six weeks of the season. Former San Diego star Paddy Ryan was a surprise addition to the Sydney Uni roster last weekend, while Old Glory’s Mungo Mason has been in top form with three tries for Warringah.

 

UNDER

Top 14, Pro D2 Warm-up Fixtures
There have been many match cancellations due to COVID-19. In the case of France, warm-ups ahead of the beginning of competitions across various divisions has been interrupted. Teams of all divisions have had matched called off. This has included teams with players and coaches from the Americas. While the return of rugby in Europe is welcome from a fan perspective, it is a reminder that the pandemic still looms large and there are bumpy roads yet ahead.

Javier Ortega Desio
Also hit by COVID-19 is Ortega Desio. The UAR has confirmed that the back rower has tested positive for the virus. Los Pumas will begin their third week of training for domestic players ahead of the Rugby Championship, but will do so without Ortega Desio who must now remain in isolation.

World Champions hosting RWC 2027 or 2031
South Africa will not bid for RWCs 2027 or 2031. The reigning World Champions were strong contenders to bid to host RWC 2027 or 2031, but will not do so for financial reasons. This leaves Australia and Russia as the two confirmed bidders to play host to RWC 2027. World Rugby is hopeful that there will be more interested parties, but indications are that there will not be. Perhaps RWC 2031 will attract greater interest? Then again, with England set to bid others may be turned away as Argentina and Italy did instead of running against France for RWC 2023.

Tampering with Test Kits
The kits worn for the purposes of test rugby continue to evolve. Outside of Rugby World Cup competition this means large areas of the shirt are sold to sponsors. Those logos sometimes suit the shirt, but often detract from the design. New kits are released in an attempt to sell more merchandise year on year. It seems we will have to wait until 2021 to see Macron’s new Rugby Canada shirts. With luck they will be more appealing than the obtrusive Canterbury jerseys revealed by Ireland this past week.

Leicester Tigers
The rest due to COVID-19 has not helped Leicester. The former giants of English rugby remain a shadow of their former selves. On Saturday the Tigers were thumped at home 38-16 by Bath, a result once unthinkable at Welford Road. The outcome means that Bath have won their last three league matches against Leicester, their best run in 30 years. The new coaching staff under Steve Borthwick have their work cut out for them. Tomás Lavanini started both this game and last weekend against Exeter.