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

Duque delivers as Brazil advance in RWC 2023 qualifiers
Brazil defeated Paraguay 29-0 on Saturday in São José dos Campos. Moisés Duque was Brazil’s hero both in point scoring and general play. His 19 points were more than just a Man of the Match showing. He was the difference between the teams for the opening hour of the contest. Os Tupis’ victory sees them advancing in the RWC 2023 qualifiers. For Paraguay defeat means elimination.

Hard work pays off for Chile
Chile Rugby has been granted High Performance status and large investment from World Rugby. It is guaranteed for at least the next two years. Chile Rugby’s High Performance plans have seen the union allocated £100,000 in 2021 and a further £100,000 in 2022. The funding is to be directed at critical factors as identified by World Rugby. Noted was that Rugby Chile has state governance, solid leadership, strong relations with the public and private sectors, and a commitment to the High Performance program.

Women’s Eagles look like Medal contenders
An unbeaten Quest For Gold tournament saw the Women’s Eagles pressing their case as genuine medal contenders in Tokyo. Three wins and a draw against Great Britain was particularly impressive. Their roster is loaded with talent from top to bottom and they will now travel with great confidence from their final Olympic tune-up.

Argentina in good shape for Tokyo
Los Pumas were the pick of the Men’s bracket, the only blemish on an otherwise perfect record a loss to Great Britain in their sixth and final game. They will also have a medal on their minds. The Men’s Eagles finished 3-3 though it should be noted that Mike Friday was using the tournament as a final selection vehicle with the traveling team to be named on Friday. Welcomed back after long spells on the sidelines were world class duo Folau Niua and Perry Baker.

Toulouse’s Pumas are more than Jokers
Two Argentines were crowned Top 14 champions on Saturday. Pumas centers Juan Cruz Mallía and Santiago Chocobares started for Toulouse in in the 18-8 win over La Rochelle. USA prop David Ainu’u was left out of the match-day 23 by Toulouse. Facundo Bosch started for La Rochelle. He made 15 tackles, the most of any player in the final. Mallía made history by winning two titles while under contract as a medical joker. His try took Toulouse to the European Champions Cup title last month. He and Chocobares are now very likely to have their long-term playing futures confirmed.

Pumas pair say their farewells with Premiership title
Pumas Santiago García Botta and Martín Landajo are English Premiership champions. Both players were on the replacements bench for the Harlequins in Saturday’s final. Harlequins were 40-38 winners over the 2020 winners Exeter. Both García Botta and Landajo joined the Harlequins from Argentina. They departed Super Rugby to continue their careers abroad. Landajo will continue his career next season in France.

Rugby ATL have Eastern Conference title within reach
With two regular season remaining the picture is bright for Rugby ATL. The Ratlers are at the top of the Eastern Conference with a five-point lead over Rugby United New York, and a significant lead in points differential in the event the two sides finished level. ATL’s comprehensive 32-12 win over Old Glory DC reaffirmed that they are the East’s best hopes for a title.

Austin alive in the Western Conference
The AG’s secured a vital bonus point win over San Diego on Saturday evening to stay within reach of a playoff spot. A 19-point haul in the second half led to a final score of 33-14 in favor of the Gilgronis at Torero Stadium. They now have a bye week to prepare for an enormous match against the Giltinis at Memorial Stadium on July 10.

NOLA hanging on in the East
After a poor opening half in Weymouth, the Gold recovered to take a 17-9 win on the road over the Free Jacks. It keeps NOLA’s dream of a playoff spot alive though the failure to earn a bonus point sees them slipping one further point behind New York. Some help will be needed this weekend, ironically from New England, as the Gold are set to play the Giltinis in LA without several top players lost to international duty.

Sophie de Goede among the best
Canadian international Sophie de Goede is the only Americas representative in the Premier 15s Team of the Season. The final selection was determined by fan vote from a list of nominees chosen by the league. de Goede made 15 appearances in her first season with Saracens, scoring six tries and kicking four conversions. Others earning nominations included fellow Canucks McKinley Hunt, Abby Duguid, and Paige Farries, and Eagles duo Kate Zackary and Gabby Cantorna.

Bright present and future for Uruguay u20s 
Uruguay defeated Georgia 20-15 on Wednesday in South Africa. The match was a second round contest in the u20 International Series. Uruguay’s win gave Los Teritos a 1-1 record. It followed their strong performance first up against hosts South Africa. Hooker Joaquín Myska, scrum-half Juan Manuel Tafernaberry, and center Juan Manuel Algorta all scored against Georgia.

UNDER

Colombia without exports for RWC qualifier against Chile
Los Tucanes face Chile away on Saturday, July 3. The RWC 2023 qualifier will be the toughest test match in Colombia’s rugby history. The roster will be well prepared with 18 SLAR players though are are still some notable absentees. Those who play their rugby abroad will not feature for Colombia against Chile. Colombia Rugby notes that their non-availability is regretful. Of particular note is the absence of their only Top 14 player Andrés Zafra.

Five defeats in a row for Toronto Arrows
The Arrows were beaten by Rugby United New York on Saturday, extending Toronto’s record losing streak to five matches. Only three of the nine players selected for Canada’s UK tour were included and the injection of new names into the lineup wasn’t enough. Only pride will be on the line now as their last two opponents are also out of the playoff race. At least one win from the two will be needed to boost morale ahead of the off-season.

Free Jacks drop the ball
A nine-point lead at halftime on friendly turf ought to have been enough of a buffer in the loser-goes-home match against the Gold on Saturday. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t. New England gave up 17 unanswered points in the second half and offered little threat with ball in hand. Realistically the playoffs might have already been out of reach but all hopes fizzled out along with their unbeaten home record.

SaberCats need sharper teeth
Take Toronto’s misery and multiply it by two for Houston. It’s now 10 losses in a row for the beleaguered SaberCats who do not have the excuse of spending their whole season on the road. There were few positives to take from Saturday’s loss to Utah aside from Veramu Dikidikilati’s early individual effort, Houston’s only points in the match.

Heatwave affects Brainwaves
We can only assume it was the heat that contributed to several bizarre scenes across the MLR weekend. It started with a 30-minute ambulance delay for the start of the Arrows game, which surely threw off the match officials. That combined with sweat in their eyes are the only explanations for the decision to award a try to Apenisa Cakaubalavu despite the fact that he dropped the ball well before a grounding was even possible. Then there was Houston captain Luke Beauchamp asking for his own player to be sent off, Aleki Morris-Lome’s reckless shoulder charge and baffling cry of innocence against NOLA, and senseless head-high challenges from ATL’s Jeremy Misailegalu and LA’s JP Smith. The latter sparked a fracas that had teammates on both sides arguing with each other.

Double disappointment for Facundo Bosch
Reaching the final of the Champions Cup and the Top 14 is a dream for rugby players the world over. Being able to compete in two in the same season is beyond rare. La Rochelle did so this year only to lose both times. If that was not unlikely enough it meant two losses against Toulouse in the finals. Argentine Facundo Bosch featured in both finals. He joins Los Pumas in Romania with double disappointment – losses in both finals.

Tsunami topples Paraguay Scrum
Paraguay’s improvement was evident against Brazil. Los Yakarés held their own for much of the contest. They pressured Brazil at the breakdown and the set piece. That was until the impact of replacements dramatically altered the contest. Legandary Tupis prop Jardel Vettorato’s entrance was catastrophic for Paraguay. The Brazilian scrum became like tanks against men on horseback, the tsunami-like visual tough on the eyes as Paraguay buckled under the immense pressure.

Os Tupis estão dominando o scrum; mas, o Jardel simplesmente foi um tsunami. pic.twitter.com/AIgTCMbMiS

— Paul Tait (@AmericasOval) June 26, 2021