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

Spain vs Argentina is what rugby needs so badly
The Centennial Celebration of 100 year of Spanish Rugby will involve the special fixture of Spain vs Argentina. A variety of factors can be identified as unique to the 2023 edition of The Match. Three stand out. First, it is not a repeat fixture. It is Spain’s first home match against a Tier 1 team since 2001. Second, it is a non-Anglo rugby test match that will be contested between two Spanish-speaking countries. Third, it is to be played in a new market; one which is a renowned venue in a major city.

Interim Coaches confirmed for Eagles
USA Rugby have named Interim Head Coaches for the Women’s and Men’s Eagles. Richard Ashfield and Scott Lawrence step into the respective roles following the departures of Gary Gold and Rob Cain in recent weeks. Both will stay in place until full-time successors are chosen following a High Performance review and application process.

Signs that Paraguay will improve again in 2023
The Yacare roster has been finalized for the upcoming 2023 Super Rugby Americas. The Paraguayan side features players from Paraguay and Argentina. 30 of the 44 players are either from Paraguay or eligible to play for Paraguay. There are a total of 21 Argentines on the roster, 7 of which are eligible to play for Paraguay.

Peñarol loaded for Super Rugby Americas 2023
Two big names are returning to Uruguay for Super Rugby Americas 2023. Ignacio Dotti and Gastón Mieres will boost the Peñarol roster for the upcoming season. They are back in Uruguay after extensive periods playing Major League Rugby for the NOLA Gold and Toronto Arrows respectively. The fit-again Diego Arbelo will also join the roster. Every player on the soon-to-be-official roster is Uruguayan.

Dogos Roster revealed without a single Buenos Aires Player
Argentina’s newest professional rugby team has its own unique look. The 39-man Dogos roster contains 19 players from Córdoba, 11 from the Litoral, 5 from Mendoza, 2 from Salta, 1 from Santiago del Estero and 1 from Tucumán. In short, the team has a mainland identity and not a single player is from Buenos Aires. Córdoba is at the heart of Los Dogos but so too is Argentine provincial rugby. The combination of players from different provinces while still being Córdoba-centric ensures a competitive team while being one that holds up the Dogos tradition.

Mateo Carreras flying in England
Mateo Carreras is the leading try scorer in the 2022-2023 English Premiership. The Tucumano scored a hat-trick for the Newcastle Falcons against the Leicester Tigers on Saturday. His three tries take his season tally up to 11. Another Puma is among the  leading try-scorers in the 2022-2023 English Premiership season. Hooker Santiago Socino has scored six tries for Gloucester. This places him as the joined fifth best scorer for the season thus far. Socino is a former Falcon.

Pumas Score in English Premiership, Top 14 and United Rugby Championship
It was not only Mateo Carreras scoring tries over the weekend. Other Pumas also did so. Matías Moroni also scored for Newcastle. Santiago Cordero scored for Bordeaux, Bautista Degliu scored for Clermont and Tomás Albornoz scored for Benetton. All did so in wins as did Sebastián Cancelliere who scored a double for the Glasgow Warriors on Sunday. The Scots were 24-17 winners over the Stormers.

Brive on form with Zafra, Paulos, Müller and Sánchez impressing
The fight to avoid relegation is serious business in the Top 14. Brive have moved up the standings with three consecutive wins. Americas players have been heavily involved in these matches. Colombia’s Andrés Zafra scored in the win over Lyon while French media noted Lucas Paulos and Axel Müller’s performances against Toulon over the weekend. Nicolás Sánchez was man of the match, and player of the round, for Brive in their win over Clermont on December 23.

Everything to play for in 2023
As noted in a Special Edition of ‘Up and Under’ last week, there are players across all positions chasing places not he World Cup roster. It all points to a healthy state of Los Pumas. Perhaps for the first time, quality players will miss out on a spot on the roster across all positions. Thirty-three will play at the World Cup. Who will be joining Julián Montoya?

 

UNDER

Three Chileans Facing Doping Charges
Three Chilean players have tested positive for banned substances and are now facing sanctions, according to the country’s National Doping Control Commission (CNCD). In question are leading sevens exponents Joaquín Huici and Vicente Tredinick, and national u20 lock Jaime Paredes. Huici is the captain of the Cóndores Sevens side.

Taylor Paris retires from rugby
Taylor Paris called it a day at the age of 30. The 28-time capped Canadian winger announced his retirement this past week together with his French club Oyonnax. The reason for his sudden, and young, retirement is injury. Paris burst on to the international scene at a young age. He made his first appearance at the international level with Canada u17’s in 2009. He went on to make his test debut for Canada against Belgium in 2010.

Kristine Sommer calls it a day too
Kristine Sommer has confirmed her retirement from rugby at the age of 32. She steps away after representing the USA in both 7s and XVs, most recently at the 2022 World Cup in New Zealand. Originally from Palmdale, California, Sommer gained national recognition with Seattle Rugby before making the move overseas with Harlequins in 2018. This past season she suited up for Gloucester-Hartpury in the Premier 15s.

Rob Cain steps down as USA Women’s Coach
Rob Cain announced his departure as Head Coach of the Women’s Eagles. this past week. A decision on his future was to be made after USA Rugby completed a high performance review, but the 42-year-old says he won’t be returning to his post. It is the second major departure from USA Rugby in recent weeks, with Men’s Eagles coach Gary Gold stepping down after failing to qualify for Rugby World Cup 2023.

First Choice Uruguayan flanker in danger of missing World Cup
Uruguay’s Rugby World Cup preparations have been hit with a serious problem. First choice flanker Santiago Civetta is out with injury for the first half of 2023. Civetta is to undergo surgery on a torn Achilles heal tendon. Civetta will miss the entirety of the campaign. His recuperation is presently estimated for a return in July.

Record Loss for Leicester Tigers
Saturday’s big day for Mateo Carreras was also the worst result on record for the Leicester Tigers against the Newcastle Falcons. The Newcastle Falcons won the match 45-26;  the biggest ever win by the Newcastle Falcons over the Leicester Tigers. Julián Montoya and the 2022 winning team are off the pace this season.

Down Goes Benjamín Urdapilleta
Benjamín Urdapilleta missed a regulation shot at goal on Saturday. The Puma fell over when attempting a kick from in front of the posts. Castres lost the match 26-7 away to Stade Français in Paris. On the one hand, the result sees Stade Français moving to within one win of Top 14 leaders Toulouse. On the other hand, Castres are a long way away from repeating last season’s form which took them to the final. Castres are 11th, just one point above Pau and three above Brive.

#TOP14 – La glissade de la J15
Attention sol glissant ⚠️
Petit problème de "pneumatiques" pour l'ouvreur du @CastresRugby 🛞 qui obtient tout de même une belle note artistique pour sa tentative de but ! 😅 pic.twitter.com/ljFm4NnBAc

— TOP 14 Rugby (@top14rugby) January 7, 2023