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

Canada Come Right Against Australia
Canada overcame a slow start to come away with a 22-10 win over Australia in Auckland on Friday. Rain fell throughout, heavily in the first half, and resulted in several handling errors from both sides while a high penalty count also contributed to stop-start action.

Manoa Receives and Accepts Call of Duty
Samu Manoa is back in the frame for the Eagles. The 37-year-old lock or back row last represented the USA in November of 2018 before announcing his international retirement ahead of Rugby World Cup 2019. Manoa is one of 30 players named by Head Coach Gary Gold for the upcoming World Cup Qualifying series against Chile. The significance cannot be understated; Manoa is the biggest USA name in elite leagues over the past 15 years.

New York Make it to the Big Time
Rugby New York are headed to their first Championship Final after a stirring come-from-behind win over the New England Free Jacks on Sunday. The home side led by six points until two late tries gave the visitors a famous 24-16 result and keep them on course to contest the MLR Shield next weekend.

Seattle Go from elimination to the MLR Final
The Seattle Seawolves are headed to their third Championship Final after a dominant 46-27 win over the SaberCats in Houston on Saturday. A 25-point first half put the visitors on the front foot and after weathering a brief reversal of fortunes early in the second half, an explosion of three tries in six minutes put the result beyond doubt. The Washington state side is in the final after LA and Austin were disqualified.

Peñarol Close Out the Challenge Cup of the Americas with a Smile
Peñarol downed the American Raptors on Saturday in Glendale, Colorado. The young Uruguayan team wearing the colors of the SLAR 2022 champions were 26-10 winners. The Uruguayans had a one man advantage for the majority of the contest. A red card to the home side was too much for them to recover from. Peñarol played a well-structured game and came away with the win by four tries to two.

Jaguares XV Best of the Challenge Cup of the Americas
Los Jaguares XV put on an impressive display on Saturday in Glendale, Colorado. The Argentines were 80-10 winners over Vancouver side UBCOB Ravens, scoring twelve tries to two. Winger Iñaki Delguy and Ignacio Mendy both scored four tries. Delguy had a hat-trick before the end of the first half. Overall the gulf between the teams was substantial. The semi-professional players from Los Jaguares XV played to a much higher standard. The speed of play, quality and finishing were all notable features of the win.

Magnificent Matera is a Super Rugby Champion
Pablo Matera made history on Saturday. The Pumas flanker won the Super Rugby title with the Crusaders. Never before had an Argentine won Super Rugby.  Three years after playing in the final in Christchurch, Matera became a champion by defeating the Blues 21-7 in Auckland. Matera was in the thick of the action. He made 10 carries, 10 tackles defeated 2 defenders, and had a try assist. His assist was a kick which saw Fijian All Black Sevu Reece scoring the title deciding try. He will now depart the Crusaders. ARN understands that he has offers to play in England, France and Japan.

Top 14 Final to have Argentina, Uruguay, and USA flavor
The Top 14 Final will take place this coming Friday in Paris. It will be contested between Castres and Montpellier, the winning teams from the Top 14 Semi Finals. Castres defeated reigning champions Toulouse on Friday while Montpellier defeated Bordeaux on Saturday. Both results ought to be regarded as upsets. Recalled Puma Benjamín Urdapilleta was Man of the Match for Castres while Santiago Arata scored a decisive try and outplayed the world’s best player, Antoine Dupont. Eagles prop Titi Lamositele had a fine performance against Bordeaux.

Pumas Start and Deliver to Become English Champions for Leicester Tigers
Julián Montoya and Matías Moroni have conquered the top of English professional rugby. The Argentine players started for the Leicester Tigers in Saturday’s English Premiership Final. The Leicester Tigers were 15-12 winners over Saracens. Montoya started at hooker and Moroni played outside center. The two men were Super Rugby teammates for beaten finalists, Los Jaguares in the 2019 Super Rugby Final. Fast forward three years and they are English champions. Juan Pablo Socino did not play but is on the Leicester roster and thus is also an English Premiership champion.

 

UNDER

Uruguay Fall Short against Japan
Japan were 34-15 winners over Uruguay on Saturday at the Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium in Tokyo. The result puts the Asian country 1-0 up in a two match series. The second test match will take place this coming Saturday. In game one, the Japanese outscored the South Americans by five tries to two. The first three tries of the contest were all scored by Japan.

USA Blown Apart by New Zealand in Pacific Four
New Zealand claimed the Pacific Four title with a 50-6 win over the USA at The Trusts Arena in Auckland on Friday night. While the Eagles gave a strong account of themselves in the set piece, in open play they were no match for the speed and skill of the Black Ferns. Barely a minute into the game the home side crossed for the opening score. Ruahei Demant slipped through a half-gap and connected with Renee Holmes, who in turn found Ayesha Leti-I’iga to her left. The winger stepped out of Bulou Mataitoga’s grasp and sped away to the corner for the try.

Canada Missing Talent for July
Rugby Canada named a 30-man squad for the upcoming Senior Men’s July test series. Games against Belgium and Spain will take place on July 2 in Halifax and July 10 in Ottawa respectively. As with the USA’s roster, there are 22 players that featured in Major League Rugby included. Unlike the Eagles, however, there was just one overseas player named by Kingsley Jones – Aurillac flyhalf Peter Nelson.

Wayne Barnes
Even the best make mistakes on big occasions. The English Premiership final was an absorbing match and not without controversial decisions from referee Wayne Barnes. Most egregious was a yellow card to Saracens scrumhalf Aled Davies for a shoulder to the head of Leicester hooker Julián Montoya. It was a clear red card, a mystifying decision that went completely against World Rugby’s push for player welfare. No referee wants to make calls that influence big games but even Davies could not have complained had he rightly been sent from the field.