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’s Success Recognized
The 2021 November Internationals brought mixed results for the Americas. The month of November saw Argentina, Canada, Chile, and Uruguay touring Europe and Brazil touring Africa. The success story was undeniably Chile and this was reflected in ARN’s Americas All-Star XV for the month. Few people would have predicted Chile to have the year they did or that six players would make the November Best-Of Americas team.

Utah Warriors locked and loaded for 2022
The Utah Warriors have revealed the first 31 names of their roster for the 2022 Major League Rugby season. Confirmed are the departures of several prominent names while six overseas players have been signed in addition to three Collegiate Draft picks. Approximately 10 roster spots are still to be filled for the new season.

Pumas claim Double Bronze in Dubai
Argentina took third place in Dubai this past weekend, making it double-bronze in the first two tournaments of the new World Sevens Series. They now sit second overall in the season standings behind South Africa. Los Pumas downed France 38-21 in the Bronze Final. The match featured a hat-trick from standout performer Marcos Moneta. There was also a double to Luciano González Rizzoni and a try to captain Santiago Álvarez.

Eagles Women finish 5th; Brazil claim upset
The USA Women’s Eagles finished in 5th spot in the second of two Dubai tournaments to start the new World Sevens Series season. Canada would close in 8th spot, with Brazil slipping to 9th but capping their day with a first ever victory over Great Britain. Mixed results in the pool stage left the USA to fight for 5th spot, a result they sealed by the narrowest of margins. Alena Olsen’s conversion of Naya Tapper’s try just two minutes into the game enough to beat Spain 7-5.

Martin Iosefo hits half-century on World Sevens Series
US Eagles star Martin Iosefo reached a career milestone this past weekend with his 50th event on the World Sevens Series. The 31-year-old Hawaiian has developed into a truly world class sevens player since debuting at Dubai in 2014. Coincidentally the site of his first appearance may have also seen his last on the circuit, with Iosefo set to depart the team to join a Major League Rugby side for the new season that starts at the end of January.

Pumas exports hitting record highs
Argentina’s results were underwhelming in 2021 but the structures are in place for success to come. There are record numbers of professional players and indications are that further names will sign pro contracts abroad. This past week saw Felipe Ezcurra joining Grenoble. With it the fourth choice scrumhalf moves from SLAR to the Pro D2. This will open up opportunities at Los Jaguares XV. Of the 2021 Pumas, Ignacio Mendy is now the only one not playing his rugby abroad. Pablo Matera and Santiago Medrano will play in Super Rugby 2022. All others are in Europe. Every player comes from Argentina.

Test rugby is back for Mexico and Cayman Islands
The year may be coming to an end but there is still international rugby to look forward to. Mexico will play host to the Cayman Islands in Mexico City on Saturday. It’s the first test for Las Serpientes since the two sides met way back in the 2019 Americas Rugby Challenge. The 2020 and 2021 international seasons were almost completely wiped out by the pandemic with the exception of some sevens rugby – most recently the Olympic qualifiers and the World Sevens Series.

 

UNDER

Gilpin’s comments on Eligibility disconnected from reality
World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin spoke to the BBC this week in defense of the new ‘Union Transfer’ regulation regarding player eligibility. He insisted that the change was not driven by a desire to boost Pacific Island – specifically Samoan and Tongan – rugby, citing South America and even Uruguay as being countries who could benefit. Either he is being dishonest or has been poorly informed. There are no such benefits for South America, and in fact the new changes will have a negative effect on those countries. Others that argue the game will benefit from the change at least admit that the new regulation heavily favors two countries far more than others.

On credibility – the curious case of Axel Müller
Axel Müller has gone public with his hopes of playing for the USA. The Brive winger spent 10 years of his youth in Arizona before returning to his native Argentina. While he was a standout on the World Sevens Series, he is uncapped by Los Pumas at test level and last played international rugby in 2016. Müller holds a US passport and fulfills the three-year stand-down period, but under the new regulation he does not qualify for a union transfer – though those with one grandparent born in their country of choice do meet the mark. World Rugby may need to revisit their regulation once again.

Canadian Double Flop in Dubai
This past weekend was not a good one for Canada in either the Men’s or Women’s competitions in Dubai. The men lost all of their matches. Day One saw losses against Australia, Kenya and the USA while on Day Two Canada fell to Fiji before losing to Japan in the 11th Place Final. With it Canada finished last. The Women’s team had a win over Brazil in what was otherwise not a memorable tournament. Both are young sides but it’s not the start to the season they will have hoped for.

Expect pressure on veteran Pumas in 2022
Argentina’s performances in 2021 saw no shortage of questioning. The search for the winning formula and how to go far at RWC 2023 will be focuses in 2022. Many players can be brought into the discussion for the top team today and for France 2023. This sees pressure firmly on veteran Pumas. Changes have begun and more are expected to follow. The question is how many.