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 unbeaten in Women’s World Cup
Canada wrapped up an unbeaten pool stage with a 29-14 win over the USA in Auckland on Sunday. The result secures the No2 seed for the Canadians, and sets up an immediate rematch with the 7th-seeded Eagles in the Quarter Final. While the Maple Leafs enjoyed periods of dominance, they were bested by the Eagles at the scrum and made far too many errors for a team with aspirations of competing for the title. The USA will look to their second half performance for inspiration ahead of this weekend.

Argentina XV Champions in Montevideo
The Argentina XV were crowned champions of the Uruguayan Conference on Sunday. Argentina’s next-of-XV were big winners over the USA Falcons and fought back to claim a draw against the Uruguay XV. Some names who stood out include Franco Molina, Pedro Rubiolo, Eliseo Morales, Joaquín de la Vega Mendía, Mateo Soler and Juan Ignacio Landó.

Chile crowned triangular champions in Brazil
Chile defeated Canada by a final score of 36-25 to claim the Americas Rugby Trophy in Mogi das Cruzes on Friday. It was a penalty-ridden contest throughout with an astonishing nine yellow cards dished out by Argentine referee Damián Schneider. The match was not considered a full test and no caps were awarded, with the teams technically competing under the ‘next senior’ designation. Nevertheless both sides fielded lineups full of senior internationals in preparation for their upcoming matches on European soil.

Chile locked and loaded for November
Los Cóndores  have scheduled a three-match European tour for November. The matches will see the South Americans playing two test matches on the European continent and one match against a United Rugby Championship side in Ireland. Chile will play matches on Saturday November 5, Saturday November 12. and Friday November 18. The opening match will be a test against Romania in Bucharest, two teams that will compete at Rugby World Cup 2023.

Gonzalo Quesada Humbles Critics
Stade Français were 27-0 winners over Brive on Saturday. The win was the third in-a-row for the Gonzalo Quesada coached Parisians. The Argentine was under heavy fire last month but has humbled his critics as the team are in second position and playing brilliant rugby.

Great Flood of South American tries in Europe’s Elite
In France Juan Imhoff scored his first try of the season for Racing 92. The Puma scored in a 38-31 win over Montpellier. Bautista Delguy scored his second in as many weeks as he scored for Clermont who finished 23-23 against Bordeaux. Uruguayan Santiago Arata scored in Castres’ loss against Toulon and Nicolás Freitas scored for Vannes in the Pro D2. In England Agustín Creevy scored for London Irish while his opposite, Santiago Socino scored two for Gloucester in the 22-21 win.

Martín Bogado looks the part on Top 14 debut
For Martín Bogado, the move from the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR) to the Top 14 was completed on Saturday. The former Olímpia Lions and Jaguares XV fullback debuted in Bayonne’s 24-20 win over Perpignan. He was dangerous with ball in hand playing wing in what was a pivotal fixture with an eye to relegation to the Pro D2.

 

UNDER

Falcons fail to fly in South America and Africa
The USA Falcons brought their South American trip to a close with a resounding 81-21 defeat at the hands of the Argentina XV on Tuesday. After a competitive opening 40 minutes, the wheels came off in the second half as the Argentines piled on 55 points at the Estadio Charrúa. Over in South Africa, the USA Falcons ended their tour with a 33-15 loss to the Pumas on Friday. It wasn’t all bad. Pita Vi emerged as a player of interest in Montevideo, while the Eagles-to-be impressed at the set piece in Bloemfontein.

Canada battles injuries in World Cup
Canada suffered a double-blow with the loss of first choice halfbacks Brianna Miller and Taylor Perry for the remainder of the World Cup. A direct replacement has not been called for either, with hooker Veronica Harrigan instead joining the team in New Zealand. One roster spot remains open should the team choose to summon another player. Miller was in impressive form to start the tournament, scoring two tries against Japan in the opener.

Rugby’s eligibility circus continues 
Roman Salanoa is on the Ireland ‘A’ roster. The 24-year-old tighthead prop from Hawai’i was one of a dozen names included on the list outside the main senior squad. Though Ireland ‘A’ are considered a ‘capture’ side, New Zealand rugby has opted not to designate the All Black XV as their ‘next senior‘ side. That means that Salanoa will not be prevented from playing for the US Eagles should he opt to do so in the near future. He has previously turned out for the USA u20s.

English Premiership crisis makes Pumas props redundant 
The 2022-2023 English Premiership season is beyond crisis point. The Worcester Warriors were suspended on September 26 and and the Wasps went into administration this past week. In the space of 21 days the English Premiership has changed from 13 teams to potentially 11. Santiago Medrano and Rodrigo Martínez are now redundant. The former is with the Argentina XV as a result. Both will be rested and available for selection for Michael Cheika in November.

Sclavi red gives Pumas bad headache
Los Pumas will be forced into changes at tight head prop. Two of the three players to have started for Argentina in 2022 will miss the November Internationals. Joel Sclavi (9 caps) joins Francisco Gómez Kodela (26 caps) as being out of the upcoming tour to the UK. Michael Cheika may now start Eduardo Bello (6 caps) on the tour to England, Scotland and Wales in November. Bello had starts in the Rugby Championship this year. Another option is Santiago Medrano (27 caps). The player is now unattached following the aforementioned downfall of the Worcester Warriors.