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 upset Argentina XV
History was made on Wednesday. Chile 25-24 win was not their first over a second string Argentina, but it was the first since the team became known as the Argentina XV. Given results during the Americas Rugby Championship from 2016-2019, the victory was nothing short of spectacular. Los Cóndores celebrated the win like they had qualified for the RWC. They now focus on Canada whom they face in October. The winner will remain in the race for RWC 2023.

Argentina XV rebound against Uruguay
After three rest days the Argentina XV played again on Sunday. The Argentina rebounded to complete a 28-19 win over Uruguay in Montevideo. The victory was by four tries to three and the Argentina XV conceded no points in the second half. The team contained no shortage of youth, an encouraging sign for the development of more players for representative duty and for the 2021 Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR).

USA join Five South American countries in Americas Pacific Challenge
Second senior sides representing six countries from the Americas will take to the field next month in the revived Americas Pacific Challenge. The competitors are to be the Argentina XV, Brazil A, Brazil A, Chile A, Paraguay A, Uruguay A and the USA Falcons. The World Rugby-funded tournament will help all teams blood players for test honors. The tournament requires 23 of the 28 players in each squad to be aged 23 or under. The remaining five players can be any age over 18.

Boffelli and the Carreras Experiment
Emiliano Boffelli made history on Saturday. His try was his fourth for Argentina against New Zealand. This is the highest by all players for Los Pumas against the All Blacks. The try came off a kick-pass from Santiago Carreras. That in itself was a talking point; Carreras had his first start for his country at fly half. The performance suggests firmly that there will be more caps for Carreras in the position. With Boffelli being a reliable goal-kicker and Gonzalo García also reputable the argument against losses strength.

Rioplatanese tries in Top 14
Players from both sides of the Rio de la Plata scored tries this past weekend in the Top 14. Santiago Arata scored for the 14-man Castres in their draw against Bordeaux. Facundo Isa touched down for Toulon in what was a hammering home win over Gonzalo Quesada’s Stade Français. Juan Imhoff scored for Racing 92 in an away defeat and Axel Muller scored in Brive’s home win against Pau.

UNDER

Uruguay blow strong start
Uruguay had a 19-14 half-time lead over the Argentina XV on Sunday. It was not enough as the Argentina XV scored all of the second half points. With it Los Teros were beaten 28-19. The fixture served as a warm-up ahead of the Americas 1 final against the USA next month. The winner will qualify for RWC 2023. Los Teros will have a stronger side than they did on Sunday; an estimated nine players will be added to the roster from European clubs.

Argentina cleanly beaten again in Rugby Championship
Los Pumas lost 36-13 on Saturday. Argentina had a poor opening half but were competitive in the second. The end result is that Argentina are 0-4 in the 2021 Rugby Championship. The three other teams have won either two matches or all of their matches. Argentina are now preparing for back-to-back test matches against Australia. It is a daunting prospect considering Australia defeated South Africa in their two matches over the past two weekends.

List of Canadian Retirements
In a very short time Nathan Hirayama, Conor Trainor, Connor Braid, Justin Douglas, and Harry Jones all announced their retirement. All five men had been key performers for Canada. They all appeared in one or both of RWC 2015 and the 2018 Rugby Sevens World Cup. Some can be said to be calling it a day due to age, however, Douglas retires at the age of 27. Their departures see Canada’s 7’s Men’s team without a wealth of skills and experience.

Canada missing from Americas Pacific Challenge
The name of the Americas Pacific Challenge is not accurate. The tournament is to be an Americas-exclusive event, and it will consist of three countries with no access to the Pacific Ocean. A bigger talking point is that Paraguay will join the USA, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay – with no sign of Canada. The stated reason is a ‘fixture crunch as the Canadians are planning a European tour in November with many who might have played in the APC expected to travel. It is nonetheless a missed opportunity with Paraguay graciously accepting the opening.

Additional Pumas added to injury list
The Rugby Championship is over for Jerónimo de la Fuente, Matías Orlando, Bautista Delguy and Joel Sclavi. Both centers departed injured early last week as did Delguy. Sclavi has undergone surgery and has a targeted return of December. He had been inline to boost the Pumas scrum in the ongoing Rugby Championship. Instead, his debut will have to wait. He also missed out on opportunities in 2020 due to injury. Rodrigo Bruni and Nicolás Sánchez remain with the team in Australia. They are nursing injuries.

Early injuries for North Americans in Premier 15s
Exeter Chiefs had reason to celebrate on Saturday as they scored a 24-12 upset win over Harlequins in Premier 15s action. There were seven North Americans suiting up for the visitors, with tries from Canadian lock McKinley Hunt and USA flanker Rachel Johnston contributing. Unfortunately it came at a cost. With Eagles flyhalf Gabby Cantorna already out with an ankle injury, Hunt suffered a broken leg as a result of foul play and now faces a lengthy recovery time.