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

Cóndores closing in on home test match against Tier 1 opponent
Los Cóndores are in talks with Scotland to host a test match ahead of Scotland’s three test match tour of Argentina. The fixture would be great reward for Chile’s improvement in 2021 and for the hard-working organization. Late June is being targeted for the Scotland test, to be placed before Chile’s two-match RWC 2023 Qualifying series against the USA.

Uruguay to Asia in June
Los Teros’ 2022 test matches are soon to be official. The first piece of the puzzle sees Uruguay set to tour Japan for two test matches in June. The series will be Uruguay’s first visit to the Asian powerhouse since 2015. The tour falls outside of World Rugby’s release window; as such Uruguay’s European-based players will not be selected for the tour. Uruguay will subsequently host European opposition on home soil in July.

Tucumán front-rower rescues Spain in RWC 2023 Qualifier
Spain were down and out against Russia on Saturday. Los Leones found their way to complete a miracle late comeback to down the Bears 41-37 in Sochi. The winning try went to Santiago Ovejero, a player from Tucumán. He was joined by three other Argentines – Fernando López, Facundo Domínguez, and Bautista Güemes. The win keeps Spain’s World Cup qualifying hopes alive.

Juan Imhoff writes name in record books
Juan Imhoff wrote his name in the record books on Saturday. The Rosario winger scored his 100th try for Racing 92. It came in the team’s 35-29 win over Pau. Imhoff’s 100 tries have come in different competitions. 67 of them have been scored in Top 14 matches, 32 in the European Champions Cup and 1 in the 2020 Super Sevens. Imhoff is the first player to score 100 tries for Racing 92 in the professional era.

Strengthened Peñarol Roster for SLAR 2022
Peñarol have named a powerful roster for the 2022 SLAR season. The Uruguayan side includes veteran forwards Diego Magno and Manuel Diana who have returned from Major League Rugby and scrumhalf Juan Manuel Tafernaberry who recently spent time training with the Stade Français academy side. The recruitment ought to mean that the team will again be competitive in 2022. Peñarol were beaten finalists in the 2021 season.

Seattle Seawolves overcome Utah Warriors
A late surge from the Utah Warriors wasn’t enough as the Seattle Seawolves held on to win a 20-17 result at Starfire Stadium on Thursday evening. It was an exciting match from start to finish that featured twists and turns throughout, and sees the resurgent Seawolves improving to 2-0 to start the new season. Eagles candidates Tavite Lopeti and Martin Iosefo were standouts in Seattle’s backline, with the latter sparking the try of the season to date scored by Canadian flanker Nakai Penny.

Awesome Austin the team to beat
The Austin Gilgronis defeated Old Glory DC in emphatic fashion on Saturday evening, winning by a score of 57-12 at Bold Stadium. Club records were set in points scored and margin of victory. A rampant AG backline contributed six of the team’s eight tries, including two each for wingers Julián Domínguez and Conner Mooneyham. Eagles fullback Marcel Brache was named Man of the Match.

Rugby ATL also remain unbeaten
Rugby ATL made it two wins from two as they defeated NOLA Gold 14-9 at The Gold Mine on Saturday evening. It was a game dominated by defense, with the Ratlers preventing their hosts from scoring a single try while grabbing two themselves. Despite their preseason turmoil ATL are living up to their status as the best in the Eastern Conference.

LA Giltinis get first win of MLR 2022
A dominant second half performance from the LA Giltinis saw the defending champions recover from a first half deficit to beat the Toronto Arrows 31-16 at Starlight Stadium on Friday evening. The result came to the chagrin of a strong crowd in attendance for the first Major League Rugby match played on Canadian soil outside of Ontario.

 

UNDER

Mario Ledesma walks away
Los Pumas do not have a coach; Mario Ledesma stepped down as Argentina’s Head Coach this past week. The 48-year-old was in charge of Los Pumas from August 1, 2018. Los Pumas had a long 2021 – the year included a dozen test matches, none of which were in Argentina.

Colombia Fall to Spain
In the first women’s test match between Colombia and Spain, Las Tucanes fell to a 47-15 loss in Madrid this past week. Not only was the match the first time that that two sides have faced off, it was also the first ever European opponent for Las Tucanes.

Off-target Arrows
The Toronto Arrows fell to a 31-16 defeat against the LA Giltinis this past weekend. The result sees the Canadian MLR franchise winless after two rounds of the 2022 season. Second half slides are an issue – the Arrows have failed to score a single point after halftime in their first two games. The team is also now monitoring the fitness of key players Kyle Baillie, Tomas de la Vega, and Sam Malcolm.

No Glory or Cocktails for DC
Old Glory DC were badly beaten by the Austin Gilgronis on Saturday. The writing was on the wall early as Old Glory DC had a diabolical start with the AG’s scoring off the opening kickoff. The team will not be looking forward to viewing the match video, with a brutal halftime figure of 36-nil for the Texans.

MLR Production
On Saturday the commentators were not informed that the San Diego Legion were running out a completely different backline to the one advertised. These issues are far too common in MLR broadcasts at the moment. Incorrect lineups, misnamed players, incorrect scores, wrong team logos, clocks left running with time stopped and stopped while play continues, misspelled team names (Dallas Jackets?), missed kickoffs, missed conversions, missed cards, replacements ignored. Some things are beyond production’s control but all of these examples are fixable. We are now in the fifth season of MLR and ‘growing pains’ is no longer an acceptable excuse.