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

LA Giltinis
Austin hosted LA at Bold Stadium for a surprise preseason tilt on Saturday. The Giltinis won with a late score to salvage a debut win over their cocktail cousins. The 43-38 win was a highly entertaining match. LA’s backline contained World Cup veterans Matt Giteau, Adam Ashley-Cooper, and DTH van der Merwe. While they came up just short in the end, Austin gave a good account of themselves and should be confident heading into the regular season.

Houston SaberCats
After a rocky start to their preseason campaign against NOLA, the SaberCats got a positive result against Austin on Thursday night. Zach Pangelinan scored a double while playing at inside center, and there were singles for Nicolás Solveyra and Diego Magno. Houston’s starters did the damage and it was 26-12 at halftime, with the AGs the better side in the second half.

Olímpia Lions
Pumas prop Javier Díaz was a late addition to Olimpia’s roster for the 2021 SLAR season. The loosehead specialist played Super Rugby for Los Jaguares and started for Los Pumas against Scotland in June 2018. Díaz is one of 19 Argentines on the 30-man roster. He will be up against fellow Argentine players in his own position. Five of the Olímpia front-rowers are Argentine, the others being Rodrigo Martínez, Axel Zapata, Mariano Muntaner, and Lucas Favre.

Uruguayans in Pro D2
Uruguayan forwards Germán Kessler and Manuel Leindekar were winners on Friday. Kessler was a replacement hooker for Charente in a crucial win over Béziers. He played opposite former Puma Santiago Iglesias Valdez. The win gave Charente rare back-to-back victories this season. With it the team moves above Valence Romans from bottom to 15th spot. Leindekar was also a replacement in his team’s win. Oyonnax defeated Biarritz in a key road victory. The outcome improves Oyonnax’s play-off’s hopes and means Vannes and Perpignan move further ahead of the third placed Biarritz.

Santiago Carreras
Despite not winning on Saturday, it was a memorable day and week for Carreras. The Argentine fullback was a try-scorer for Gloucester in the team’s 20-14 defeat against the Leicester Tigers. The try was his third in seven matches for the Cherry-and-Whites. He signed a new contract with the club earlier in the week. Carreras joined fellow former Jaguares Matías Alemanno and Santiago Socino in the starting line-up against Leicester. Matías Moroni started for Leicester and Tomás Lavanini was a replacement. It marked the first professional match with Pumas locks Alemanno and Lavanini playing for opposing teams.

Enrique Pieretto
Santiago Carreras and Matías Alemanno are from Córdoba. So too is Enrique Pieretto. The 26-year-old has been in good form in the Pro 14. Pieretto started again on Friday, doing so in the Glasgow Warriors’ 30-25 win over the Ospreys. The win sees the Scottish side narrowing the gap on the Welsh region. The teams are placed third and fourth in Conference A of the Pro 14. Pieretto will be joined at Glasgow by Domingo Miotti next season.

Mackenzie Carson
The Canadian international made her awaited return from injury with Saracens on Sunday. It took all of 13 minutes for the hooker to score a try. Carson was joined by fellow Canadians Emma Taylor and Alysha Corrigan in the match day 23. It was a dominant 47-17 win over Sale that puts Saracens six points ahead of Harlequins for top spot in the Premier 15s.

UNDER

Cobras Brasil XV
The opening round of the SLAR season has been cut from three to two matches. No less than 11 Cobras tested positive for COVID-19. As a result the team will not be able to take to the field on Tuesday against the Jaguares XV. The fixture is set to be postponed until April, though there is no certainty that it will be played. The setback is the latest in what is a curse to begin professional rugby in Brazil. Last year’s SLAR entry, Corinthians, was unable to play a regular season match before the season was suspended.

Old Glory DC
Heading into the preseason there were three warm-up games lined up for Old Glory. None have taken place. COVID-19 protocols saw the cancellation of games against Navy Rugby, the New England Free Jacks, and finally Rugby ATL. It’s terribly unlucky for Old Glory and one can only hope the trend does not carry into the regular season.

Italy and Six Nations
Italy were no match for Wales on Saturday. The 48-7 loss adds to the chorus of criticism for the southern European country’s place in the Six Nations Championship. Involved in the loss was Juan Ignacio Brex. He has started in all Six Nations matches for the Italians this year, yet has had little to smile about. Perhaps the most important point from the Six Nations is how the tournament fits into the contemporary and future game. Could Europe – and all regions for that matter – not have genuine RWC qualifiers? As it stands rugby continues to suit the British and Irish interests with a Lions tour every four years but no move towards an inclusive European competition.

Julián Montoya
Montoya is sidelined through injury. Leicester Tigers Head Coach Steve Borthwick confirmed that the Argentine hooker suffered a lower leg injury in training two weeks ago. Information leaked from the Tigers camp suggests that he has had surgery on a damaged hamstring, but Borthwick would not offer any such detail. The injury has seen him unable to play in Leicester’s three past matches. His return date remains unclear.

Western Force
The Force were beaten 10-7 at home on Friday, despite having plenty of opportunities to defeat the Rebels. Domingo Miotti might have made a difference but the Glasgow-bound flyhalf has not been used by the Force yet. The team failed to capitalise on a red card to Rebels lock Ross Haylett-Petty. He was sent off for a direct shoulder to the head tackle on Argentine flanker Tomás Lezana. Pumas prop Lucio Sordoni celebrated a first win with the Rebels.

Red card for Ross Haylett-Petty #FORvREB pic.twitter.com/0ly42dtb9n

— Steve Lenthall (@steve_l15) March 12, 2021