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

Chile underline RWC ambitions
Los Cóndores are a very different team now than during the RWC 2015-2019 cycle. The injection of funding and High Performance has been a real game changer. This was evident in 2020 and again on Sunday against Brazil. The beefy Chilean forwards had an impressive 80 minutes as Chile were 23-13 winners over Brazil. The result means Los Cóndores are very close to advancing in RWC 2023 qualifiers unless Brazil manage to upset Uruguay.

Pumas defy red card 
Argentina competed to a 20-20 draw against Wales on Saturday. Los Pumas did so after having lost Juan Cruz Mallía to a 29th minute red card. Not losing from such a position is a victory in itself. Argentina were in a winning position; in fact, Wales came back from a 20-6 deficit. Ultimately, yet was two tries per team with Pablo Matera and Jerónimo de la Fuente scoring for Los Pumas. The one-man disadvantage was evident; hence, Argentina merit credit for coming away with a draw.

Still unbeaten Facundo Bosch
Facundo Bosch earned his fourth cap on Saturday. He debuted in 2018 with 2021 being the first year in which he has played one than one yet match. He has not yet being on a losing side. His debut was Argentina’s home 32-19 win over South Africa in Mendoza in 2018. His second cap was Argentina’s 25-15 historic win over New Zealand in 2020. Test cap three was Argentina’s 24-17 win this month against Romania in Bucharest. This fourth cap was Saturday’s 20-20 draw against Wales in Cardiff.

Nico Sánchez goes beyond 800
History was made today in Cardiff, Wales. Nicolás Sánchez became the first Puma to score 800 test points. He did so by scoring 10 points in Argentina’s 20-20 draw against Wales, taking his test match total from 791 to 801 points. Sánchez is the all-time leading point scorer for Los Pumas. He also has the most points in test rugby of any player wearing the colors of a test team from the Americas. In reaching 800 points he added to his existing record; he was the first Americas test player to surpass 700 points.

New York stay in touch with Atlanta in the East
Rugby United New York earned a 54-19 victory over the Houston SaberCats at Belson Stadium on Saturday. A storming 42-point opening half did the damage for the home side. Combined with NOLA’s loss on Sunday, New York are now odds-on to make the Eastern Conference Final with their game against the Gold on Saturday the last hurdle.

Atlanta and Utah into playoffs
Rugby ATL took a convincing 41-31 win over Utah at Zions Bank Stadium on Saturday evening. The result effectively guarantees the Ratlers home field advantage in the Eastern Conference Final, while the Warriors also booked their spot in the postseason despite the loss. The Warriors will have one last home game next Saturday as they welcome the LA Giltinis in a preview of the Western Conference Final. ATL head to New England on Sunday with no pressure and will await the result of NOLA’s game against New York on Saturday to learn their opponent in the East Final.

Seawall rises at Starfire Stadium
The Starfire faithful were treated to Seattle’s best performance of the season as the Seawolves smashed NOLA to the tune of 30-6 on Sunday. Allen Clarke selected a heavyweight forward pack with Ben Landry and Samu Manoa doing considerable damage in the back row. It was a throwback to the glory days of the ‘seawall’ and hopefully a sign of things to come in 2022.

SaberCats add the bite of Heyneke Meyer
The Houston SaberCats have announced the signing of Heyneke Meyer as their new Director of Rugby for the 2022 Major League Rugby season. He succeeds Paul Healy in the role and will assume complete oversight of all rugby operations including the Rugby HTX academy program. Meyer, 53, is a world-renowned coach best known for taking charge of South Africa from 2012 through to the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Under Meyer, South Africa finished third, losing to eventual champions New Zealand by only two points in the Semi Final.

 

UNDER

Canada no match for England
England cruised to a 70-14 win over Canada at Twickenham on Saturday afternoon. The home side outscored their guests by ten tries to two as the Canadians struggled to deal with the strength of the English pack particularly at the lineout. Canada’s thoughts now turn to the World Cup Qualifiers coming this fall. A home-and-away series against the USA is first on the cards in September, and win or lose they will face a South American opponent in October with a potential place in France 2023 on the line.

USA fall apart vs Ireland
The Eagles had no wings and very little at all on Saturday. Ireland tore apart Gary Gold’s team. The USA put in a candidate for their worst performance of the decade. Ireland’s 71-10 victory was not on the script. The USA had been competitive one week earlier against England. The difference between the two performance was commitment. Ireland’s tries were often effortless. Spaces opened up and the lineout to maul drive was an effortless weapon that brought tries for the men in green.

Eagles lose Lasike for RWC Qualifiers
Paul Lasike will not play again this year. In fact the US Eagles star could spend up to nine months on the sidelines after rupturing an Achilles tendon while training with club side Harlequins last month. It is a heavy blow for the 31-year-old, who will now miss the upcoming Rugby World Cup Qualifiers and most of the 2021-2022 English Premiership season. He was due to be included in the Eagles squad for the July tests before suffering the injury.

Red day for Juan Cruz Mallía and Riekert Hattingh
Red Saturday, our so it was for Juan Cruz Mallía for Argentina against Wales and Riekert Hattingh for the USA against Ireland. Both players were red carded for foul play and both are now facing the prospect of a suspension. Mallía was sent off in the 29th minute for a reckless tackle; his head made direct contact with that of the player he was tackling. Hattingh was sent off for making shoulder to the head contact.

Fitness doubts over Pumas wingers
Argentina has no shortage of talent outside; yet, four of the outside backs are in doubt for Saturday’s second test match against Wales. All of Emiliano Boffelli, Bautista Delguy, Santiago Carreras, and Juan Cruz Mallía may miss out. Delguy is the best placed to feature. A combination of injury and suspension mean that the others are simply going to have to watch from the sidelines. Delguy, Santiago Cordero, and Juan Imhoff are all expected to be fine to play while Mateo Carreras may make his test debut.

NOLA crash to defeat in Seattle
Sunday’s result was just about the worst possible outcome for the Gold, as they crashed to a 30-6 defeat against the Seawolves. NOLA simply could not replicate the energy levels they produced against LA and instead saw their playoff chances take a severe nose dive as the bruising Seattle defense denied them a single try. They now require a bonus-point win of greater than 19 points while at the same denying New York a try bonus point to reach the Eastern Conference Final.

Pain over for wounded Arrows
The 2021 MLR season came to a merciful end for the Arrows this past weekend. Toronto had a 5-11 campaign and were unable to play a single match in Canada. When they finally take the field at home in 2022 it will have been close to three years since their last. Despite this the franchise is alive and well with a dedicated fan base who should provide a major psychological boost next season. With a strong core set to return in 2022 their title-winning aspirations have merely been put on hold.