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 steamroll Japan to start World Cup
Canada took a one-sided 41-5 win over Japan in their first match of the World Cup in Whangarei. Emily Tuttosi led the way with a hat trick and Brianna Miller notched a double as the Japanese forwards simply had no answer for the strength of the Canadian pack. The clock had barely ticked over one minute when Canada scored their first try. The Canadians will face a much sterner test next weekend when they face Italy in Auckland.

Argentina and Uruguay Qualify for 2023 Pan American Games
…and then there were three – Argentina and Uruguay will join Chile at the 2023 Pan American Games. They qualified on Sunday at the South American Games in Asunción, Paraguay. Argentina were the winners over Chile in the final. Uruguay claimed third spot and with it the second spot in Santiago 2023. One more spot for a South American competitor will be confirmed in December while four from North America will qualify next month.

Brazil Women a dominant force in South America
Brazil were tournament winners at the 2022 South American Games. As Yaras overcame all opponents en route to winning gold. The outcome confirmed the accuracy of the pre-tournament projections with Brazil favorites for the title. Brazil won the final by outscoring Paraguay 17-5. Brazil scored three tries to one in the contest. Captain Marina Fioravanti led well with a try while Thalia Costa grabbed a double.

Paraguay and Colombia Qualify for Pan American Games
Paraguay reached the final by defeating Argentina in a stunning upset. The 15-14 result sent Argentina into the Bronze Final against Colombia. Las Tucanes were the better of the teams in the Semi Final as they won 14-7. Brazil and Chile went into the tournament already assured of participating at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. Paraguay’s upset win over Argentina means that Paraguay qualify for the Pan American Games by reaching the final and finishing second. Colombia secured the final spot by finishing 3rd.

Santiago Arata flying high in France
Santiago Arata is on top of his game in France. The Uruguayan star was named as Castres’ best player of the month for September. It comes as no surprise given that he was named as Castres’ best player in Top 14 matches against Racing 92, Stade Français and Bordeaux. Arata was again named as Castres’ best player for the team’s first match in October.

Manuel Leindekar and Bayonne a superb fit
A second Uruguayan is delivering in the Top 14. The club won promotion back to the Top 14 last season. Manuel Leindekar joined from Oyonnax and is firmly established as a first choice player. The Uruguayan second-rower has held down a starting spot for the team which is doing well on return. Bayonne are 7th and thus well clear of promotion at present.

Three Argentine tries in Gloucester Premiership win on the road
Pumas second-rower Matías Alemanno scored two tries and hooker Santiago Socino one for Gloucester on Saturday. Gloucester were away winners over Bath in the classic English Premiership derby of the west country. Both players are likely to be back in action for Los Pumas in November.

Unused Pumas wingers score in Europe
Another two Pumas were try scorers in European elite rugby this past weekend. Sebastián Cancelliere scored for the Glasgow Warriors. The Scottish side were winners over the Bulls in their URC match. Mateo Carreras was a try scorer for the Newcastle Falcons against Saracens. Carreras has three tries in two matches. Both players are in the frame for international duty with the Newcastle player well-placed for a place on the Pumas’ roster in November.

Argentine Fly Halves prominent in big wins in Europe
Santiago Carreras started at fly half for Los Pumas in eight of the nine test matches thus far in 2022. He played wing for Gloucester against Bath on Saturday. His understudies in the Rugby Championship were Benjamín Urdapilleta and Tomás Albornoz. Urdapilleta and Albornoz both kicked six goals this past weekend. Urdapilleta scored sixteen for Castres in a big win over Montpellier while Albornoz scored 17 for Benneton who hammered the Dragons.

 

UNDER

Misfiring USA start World Cup the wrong way
The USA’s first match of the World Cup ended in bitter disappointment as Italy pulled away to secure a 22-10 victory. Their first-ever win over the Eagles came despite conceding the vast majority of possession in the first half, and losing a starting forward while fans were still taking their seats. Next up for the Eagles is Japan next weekend. They’ll need a big win to keep their Quarter Final hopes alive.

Kévin Rouet and Rob Cain
Both North American coaches deserve criticism after this weekend’s games. While Canada predictably rolled over Japan, their playing style continues to be one-dimensional with the backs hardly touching the ball. Meanwhile the Eagles lost five of their own throw-ins and their outside defense was again out of sorts. Cain then failed to pull Hope Rogers after the star prop took a nasty knock on the knee in the 75th minute and went down in visible pain. She hobbled on for a couple more minutes but should never have been allowed to risk further injury. Rouet left his captain and best player Sophie de Goede on for the full game despite the result never being in doubt. Both coaches must do better.

Argentina shocked and eliminated
Paraguay reached the Women’s final of the South American Sevens by defeating Argentina in a stunning upset. The 15-14 result sent Argentina into the Bronze Final against Colombia. Las Tucanes were the better of the teams in the Semi Final as they won 14-7. It all means that Argentina miss out on the 2023 Pan American Games. Chile, Brazil, Colombia and Paraguay are the South American qualifiers. Four from North America will join them.

Narrow Miss for Brazil
A 12-10 defeat against Uruguay was tough for Os Tupis on day one. It was harder to accept on day three as Uruguay downed the Brazilian Men 19-12 in the Bronze Final. That outcome meant not only a podium finish for Uruguay; it meant a place at the Pan American Games. Brazil are not out of it yet; a place remains up for grabs in December.

Hard times for Peru and Bolivia
The players competed hard but did not come away with wins. This sums up both Peru’s Men’s team and Bolivia’s Women’s team. The Peruvians best result was a 22-5 loss against Paraguay. Los Tumis scored two tries while being scoreless in their other matches. Bolivia were also scoreless in matches. Their best margin was a 27-0 loss against Venezuela. They scored in losing 40-5 against neighbors Peru.

World Rugby Overlook Americas Referees Again for November Internationals
Referees have been assigned for the 2022 Internationals with zero appointments for officials from the Americas. This is consistent with World Rugby official appointments recently and historically. Despite competing in the Rugby Championship every year since 2012, no Argentine has ever officiated a match in the Rugby Championship. In addition, the last Rugby World Cup match officiated by any official from the Americas was in 2003.

Big loss while out of position for Lucas Paulos
Brive were hammered by Toulon on Saturday. The 47-0 loss may end up being the biggest of the season for Brive. The team was out of sorts but a red card early in the second half did not help matters. Pumas second-rower Lucas Paulos played at flanker, an odd selection given his height, weight and skill-set. With Guido Petti injured, Paulos is likely to return to Los Pumas in November.

Bautista Ezcurra sees red 
Former Puma Bautista Ezcurra was red carded on Thursday. Playing for Grenoble against Vannes, the center was send-off. Vannes went on to win the match 26-10. Both teams are well-placed after six rounds of the Pro D2 season. Vannes lead together with Mont de Marsan on 18 points while Grenoble, Colomiers and Oyonnax all have 17 points.