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

2022 Women’s World Cup
The new dates for the postponed Women’s World Cup are now set. World Rugby has confirmed that the tournament will now begin on Saturday, October 8, 2022, with the final now booked for Saturday, November 12. While the later start date is significant, so too are the spaces between games. The initial plan had the three pool matches to be played within 10 days of each other. Games will now only be played on Saturdays and Sundays allowing for reasonable rest between matches.

SLAR Final
The 2021 SLAR Final was a match worthy of its status. Peñarol gave Los Jaguares XV a serious challenge; the Uruguayans were in the contest until the later stages. Peñarol backs Baltazar Amaya and Andrés Vilaseca crossed for spectacular second half tries. Tomás Inciarte moved from outside center to scrum half to have a try assist. Los Jaguares XV were made to work for the win.

Jaguares XV
Los Jaguares XV completed the 2021 SLAR season with a perfect record. The Argentine side won every match, always doing so by scoring a bonus point including when it was not on the table in the Semi Final and Final. There were many names putting their hands up for international duty. One uncapped name who has not been considered is Tomás Cubilla. He scored a hat-trick in the final against Peñarol.

SLAR Pumas Bolters
The 2021 Súper Liga Americana de Rugby season has given Mario Ledesma plenty to think about. Argentine players across all six teams have put up their hands for international duty. In all likelihood Ledesma will select SLAR players for the tour. The question is not if but how many will be selected. ARN has identified 15 uncapped SLAR players who could make the trip.

Los Pumas in July
The giants of the Americas, Los Pumas, will also tour Europe in July. Argentina will face Wales twice in Cardiff and play one further match. ARN understands that the match will be against Romania in Bucharest on July 03. The match would be the first between the countries since RWC 2011.

San Diego Legion
The Legion looked down and out prior to the match but somehow conjured their best offensive output of the season as they routed NOLA 43-17 in Chula Vista on Saturday. It was a comprehensive performance with San Diego’s defense contributing mightily to the result. The Legion now have a bye week after nine consecutive weeks in action. While a playoff spot looks unlikely, there is still time to salvage a positive outcome from what had been a disastrous season until now.

Toronto Arrows
The Arrows overcame a resilient SaberCats 19-10 in front of a vocal crowd at AVEVA Stadium on Saturday evening. Staunch defense from the home side limited the visitors to only two tries in the first half despite owning the vast amount of territory and possession. It gives Toronto a glimmer of hope of making the Semi Final. Like the Legion, the Arrows can now put their feet up as they have a bye.

LA Giltinis vs Utah Warriors
It was a capacity sell-out for the first ever rugby match at SoFi Stadium, with all 4,880 tickets permitted under pandemic restrictions accounted for. On the pitch the Giltinis were tested by Utah but came away with a 38-27 win on Saturday evening. It was an entertaining contest at a remarkable venue, though the football lines and makeshift uprights did take away from the spectacle somewhat.

Canada / USA July Tests
There will be no tests in North America in July, but Canada and the USA will be playing games abroad. Canada has lined up Wales and England, while the Eagles face England and Ireland. It’s the first matches since RWC 2019 for both and will be a daunting task as the two sides begin to rebuild and prepare for the RWC 2023 qualifiers later this year.

Jerónimo de la Fuente
Perpignan finished the Pro D2 regular season on a high. The Catalans were top of the table and are now well-placed to secure promotion to the Top 14. Former Jaguares captain Jerónimo de la Fuente was the standout performer in the final round. Perpignan and Vannes are in the Semi Finals. They await the outcome of Biarritz vs Grenoble and Oyonnax vs Colomiers.

UNDER

Colombia, Paraguay
Confirmation of South America’s RWC 2023 qualifying match dates were good for some but not all. Two disadvantaged countries are Colombia and Paraguay. They will miss out on playing home matches during the qualifiers. Colombia will face Chile in Santiago in June while Paraguay will travel to Brazil. The winning teams will advance to the next round, the South American finals, in Uruguay in July.

Brazil out of the Tokyo Olympics Qualifiers
Brazil has opted out of participating in the upcoming Olympic Repechage qualifier. The decision to pull out is due to the tournament dates. The competition in Monaco takes place just one week before Brazil faces Paraguay in the RWC 2023 qualifiers. Priority has been given to the test side.

Axel Muller
In naming his 67-man Argentine roster for 2021, Mario Ledesma noted that it was a message to all the players that he is watching them. Despite the site of the group there are some notable players missing, among them Axel Muller. The Brive winger and former Sevens Series star has been impressive this season but does not seem to be rated by the selectors. Ramiro Moyano meanwhile was named despite rarely playing for Toulon this season.

Valence Romans
Valence Romans have been relegated. The Pro D2 side finished the regular season second from bottom. The outcome is relegation for Pumas center Lucas Mensa and former Jaguar Segundo Tuculet. Charente were relegated one week ago. The club is home to Uruguayan RWC 2019 starting hooker Germán Kessler. He may now need to look for a new team. Argentina XV hooker Pablo Dimcheff played his final match for the team this past weekend.

Domingo Miotti and Western Force
It was heartbreak for Miotti and the Force on Saturday. The Argentine fly half scored a try in overtime to make it a 20-19 scoreline in favor of the Chiefs. Miotti’s subsequent conversion attempt was wide which saw the Western Australian side losing by one point to the Super Rugby Aotearoa losing finalists.

NOLA Gold
The Gold fell to a heavy away loss against the Legion on Saturday. It was a poor result for a team that ought to have been challenging for a victory, and ultimately came away without even a losing bonus point. With only two home games in the second half of the season it will take something special for NOLA to finish in the top two of an ultra-competitive East Conference.

New England Free Jacks
The Free Jacks were also a disappointment in their away match in Atlanta on Saturday. ATL’s game plan appeared to frustrate New England’s offense and though they did well to stay within a point until the hour mark, they fell away in the final quarter to leave with no points at all. The good news for Free Jacks fans is that the team has six home games in the second half of the season, which suggests there are much brighter days ahead.