Up and Under

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

UP

Brazil Women’s Sevens
Brazil proved a class apart to win the Sudamérica Sevens at the Carrasco Polo club in Montevideo this weekend. Sunday’s Cup Final was a one-sided 34-7 win for the Yaras, who went undefeated with an overall points spread of 246 points scored and only 12 conceded in six games. It was also a fitting farewell for Beatriz ‘Futuro’ Mühlbauer, who has opted to retire at the age of 34 after representing her country at the highest level for well over a decade.

North Americans in Premier 15s
North America’s finest exports have taken the Premier 15s by storm this season. This past weekend was perhaps their best yet as a collective. Eagles trio Kate Zackary, Gabby Cantorna, and Jennine Duncan all impressed for Exeter, with Zackary taking Player of the Game honors. Canada’s McKinley Hunt scored her first try as a professional in the match, with Sophie de Goede matching the feat for Saracens against Bristol. Courtney Holtkamp was recognized following Loughborough’s huge win over Durham Sharks. All bodes well heading towards RWC 2021.

Uruguay
While Sudamérica Rugby did not succeed in obtaining a direct RWC qualifying spot Uruguay has obtained parity. Unlike prior RWCs the winner of the North American Final between Canada and the USA will no longer qualify directly as Americas 1. Under the new format the winner of North America will face the winner of South America. For Uruguay this is a notable victory.

Carrasco Polo, Old Christians, Old Boys, Trébol
The Semi Finals have been confirmed in Uruguay. The final four in the Uruguayo de Clubes are Carrasco Polo, Old Christians Club, Old Boys and PSG Trébol. No other club has won the competition since RWCs began. In all Carrasco Polo has 27 national titles, followed by Old Christians with 20 and Old Boys with 15. Trébol’s one title was in 2018.

David Ainu’u
Eagles prop David Ainu’u made his first career Top 14 start on Saturday. He started in the No1 shirt for Toulouse against Agen. It was a highly memorable day as Toulouse were comprehensive winners. The 63-18 result underlines Toulouse as serious title contenders. For Agen it was a reminder of the task: avoid relegation. Colombian lock Andrés Zafra will be looking to help the club in what are desperate times.

LA Giltinis
It was a busy week for the Los Angeles MLR franchise. It started with the signing of Harry and Sean McNulty. Harry arrives from the Ireland Sevens squad with Sean making the move to California from the New England Free Jacks. Next to join was Harrison Goddard. He joins from Shute Shield champions Gordon. Also on the way is Corey Thomas, a Canadian-eligible Australian who has most recently been based in Japan. Randwick captain Nathan Den Hoedt has been recruited. He played against Argentina last year. USA u20 halfback Jeffrey Peleseuma was announced yesterday.

Austin Gilgronis
The other MLR cocktails also had a couple notable signings, but of the towering variety. Veteran second rows Sebastian de Chaves and Isaac Ross will join the team from London Irish and the Tasman Mako respectively. Ross arrives on a two-year deal as a player-coach, following in the footsteps of fellow All Blacks international Jamie Mackintosh.

UNDER

Argentina
It was a black shut out for Argentina in Newcastle. New Zealand were on top throughout the match; their 38-0 win speaks volumes of what transpired during the match. New Zealand played very well, Argentina did not. Not only did they do all the scoring, but New Zealand controlled possession and territory. Argentina defended very well for the most part, but pressure resulted in points. In contrast, Argentina played the full match without having a shot at goal.

Brazil
Portugal won 33-13 against Brazil on Saturday. The result gave the Europeans a 2-0 series win over the South Americans. Portugal won game one 30-10 the prior Saturday, meaning they won both matches by a 20 point margin. Portugal and Brazil are preparing for RWC 2023 qualifiers. They will each face stiff opposition in regional qualifiers in 2021. Brazil will need to extra work hard to regain superiority over Chile. Los Cóndores lifted their game in a big way in 2020.

Felipe Ezcurra
Tomás Cubelli was a key performer in the historic win over New Zealand, and Gonzalo Bertranou started against Australia the following week. Third-choice Ezcurra ran out against New Zealand this past Saturday. Ezcurra made 12 tackles, a lot for a player in his position, but he struggled badly in his core roles. Instead of using his forwards to relieve pressure, he often shipped it on to Nicolás Sánchez. Erratic passing and decision making left the Pumas with few options going forward.

Santiago Medrano
Another Puma who struggled this week is Medrano. The young tighthead prop is an excellent defender and reliable ball carrier, but the same appraisal cannot be given for his scrummaging. From the first confrontation Medrano was outmuscled badly by Joe Moody. Thereafter New Zealand won penalties at will and disrupted or turned over Pumas scrum feeds. Francisco Gómez Kodela, for his faults, was excellent against Moody two weeks earlier and also solid in the scrum against Australia last week.

😤 Scrum domination @AllBlacks #ARGvNZL #TriNations @etoro pic.twitter.com/91knsIrU2T

— RUGBYcomau (@rugbycomau) November 29, 2020

Santiago Carreras
Mario Ledesma’s decision not to include a proper replacement flyhalf backfired to the tune of 14 points against New Zealand. Carreras is one of Argentina’s most promising young outside backs but on Saturday he was thrown to the wolves at flyhalf for the final 20 minutes of the game. Two horror passes in traffic within a matter of minutes resulted in gift tries for Will Jordan. His reluctance to select Domingo Miotti – still uncapped to the frustration of many – is perplexing.

COVID-19 and RWC 2023 qualifiers
Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago. Will they have the opportunity to compete in RWC qualifiers? It appears that they will not. Costa Rica, Guatemala, Peru, and Venezuela will not compete in Sudamérica Rugby’s RWC 2023 qualifiers. World Rugby is yet to clarify the matter. Presumably, many other regions will receive a similar fate to the aforementioned countries. COVID-19 has changed the script.