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

Best Ever from Uruguay Sevens
Uruguay celebrated famous victories over Canada and the USA on Day Two of the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town. The results sent Los Teros into the Challenge Final against England on Sunday. England won the match which meant Uruguay finished 10th. This was a monumental placing for Los Teros, who have only recently qualified as a World Sevens Series core team for the firs time.

Uruguayan backs deliver on world stage
Uruguay’s team performance of defeating Canada and the USA was historic. How individuals performed was a significant part of success for Los Teros. Baltazar Amaya was a standout, third in points scored and second in tries. Felipe Etcheverry was the leading tackler.

USA and Canada achieve Top 6 placings in Cape Town
Both North American entries in the Women’s bracket exceeded their World Sevens Series standings in Cape Town. The Women’s Eagles ultimately finished in 4th spot, with the Canadians not far behind in 6th. It might be argued that both teams are capable of more, and if either can land in the top four this coming season it will mean automatic qualification for Paris 2024.

Exciting new home for San Diego Legion open for business
Snapdragon Stadium is officially open. The brand-new construction at San Diego State University welcomed its first sporting event on Saturday. A near-capacity crowd of 34,046 were in attendance to watch the Aztecs football team’s season opener. Rugby will arrive at the venue in 2023 when the San Diego Legion make the move to their new long-term home.

Cheika adds big names for Pumas series against World Champions
Agustín Creevy, center Jerónimo de la Fuente, winger Juan Imhoff and loose head prop Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro are back for Argentina. The four players missed Los Pumas’ tour to New Zealand but are back on the roster to face South Africa. The uncapped duo of scrum-half Eliseo Morales and flanker Pedro Rubiolo have also been added.

Argentines and Uruguayans impress in Top 14
Lucas Paulos started in a winning effort for Brive. Paulos and Brive were 17-6 away winners over Perpignan. Another missing from test duty is Facundo Bosch. The hooker scored for Bayonne who celebrated a hokey win over Racing 92. Uruguayan Manuel Leindekar joined Bosch in the starting lineup. Santiago Arata had a strong match for Castres who defeated Stade Français 30-20.

AJ MacGinty secures a late win for Bristol Bears
USA Eagle AJ MacGinty kicked the winning conversion just a minute from time to give Bristol Bears a 31-29  win over Bath. MacGinty joined Bristol for the new season from rivals the Sale Sharks. Also scoring in the English Premiership this weekend was Agustín Creevy. The Puma scored in London Irish’s 45-14 win over the Worcester Warriors.

MLR silly season is upon us
Off-season signings are starting to trickle out of Major League Rugby. The Toronto Arrows have added beef up front and out wide in the form of Manawatu lock Micaiah Torrance-Read and Canada winger Cole Davis. NOLA Gold have pulled off a major addition in Brumbies flyhalf Rodney Iona. Old Glory confirmed the return of captain Danny Tusitala. The Legion have boosted their rugby staff with scrum coach Alex Corbisiero and academy coach Charlie Purdon.

Free Jacks back leadership after record-setting year
New England were disappointed to miss out on the MLR Shield but have backed their leadership after setting MLR records in most wins in a regular season and most consecutive victories. Scott Mathie, Mike Rogers, and Tom Kindley are all returning alongside club captain Josh Larsen.

Revamped American Rugby Premiership features MLR talent
The ARP is back, and it’s bigger than ever. Two conference with eight teams, three of which are official MLR academy sides. Every team features players from the professional competition which also gives opportunities for fringe players and collegiate graduates to play tougher competition. A similar revival of the Pacific Rugby Premiership would provide two natural amateur pathways for talent in the USA to get exposure in front of MLR scouts.

 

UNDER

Jamaica outclassed in Cape Town
Argentina finished 5th in the Sevens World Cup and Uruguay were 10th. The USA and Canada each closed out their tournaments with victories, the Men’s Eagles defeating Kenya and the Maple Leafs edging Chile. They finished 11th, 13th and 14th. Jamaica scored three second half tries against Zimbabwe but couldn’t avoid the 24th and last spot in their final match of the tournament.

Bottom finish for Colombia
The final day in Cape Town was a day of mixed fortunes for teams from the Americas. Canada impressed with a 22-7 win over England to start things off, but were then comprehensively beaten by Fiji in their final match of the competition. The USA couldn’t get over the Semi Final loss and also fell off in their last match with a one-sided loss to France. Colombia finished at the bottom of the table after coming up just short to Madagascar. Brazil held on to beat Spain in the 11th place Final.

Facundo Isa left out of series vs South Africa
Facundo Isa will not face South Africa. This decision comes as a notable omission. With Pablo Matera playing N8 Isa’s role in the team has changed under Cheika. The same applies to Rodrigo Bruni who is on the roster covering Matera. Juan Martín González, Santiago Grondona, and Marcos Kremer are Cheika’s three preferred players for flanker.

MLR Champion Coach Gone
Rugby New York have bid farewell to Head Coach Marty Veale. Despite leading the team to their first ever Major League Rugby title, the club says they have decided to go in a different direction for the 2023 season. The 45-year-old was the team’s third Head Coach following Mike Tolkin and Greg McWilliams.