Up and Under

Up and Under is a weekly exclusive on Americas Rugby News. It takes a dive into the best and worst involving Americas Rugby from the past week.

 

UP

Uruguay With an Eye on Pool A
Round one of the 2023 Six Nations saw two of Italy’s World Cup opponents battling it out in Rome. France were pushed hard but came out winners by 29-24. It was France’s 14th consecutive victory. Uruguay open their RWC campaign against France and play Italy second. Uruguay have never faced France but earned respect in losing 17-10 against Italy in their 2021 meeting in Parma. That was without their captain and additional starting players. Uruguay will put their all into both and have made Italy the RWC priority.

South Americans Score Tries Around the World
There were a number of South Americans appearing in highlights reels over the weekend. Pablo Matera scored for the Honda Heat in a 46-24 win. In the Top 14 Joel Sclavi powered over for La Rochelle against Lyon while Francisco Coria made his Top 14 debut for Brive alongside Nicolás Sánchez, Lucas Paulos, and Axel Muller. Sánchez and Toulouse’s Juan Cruz Mallía scored via the boot for their teams. Uruguay’s Santiago Arata scored a good try for Castres who fell to Clermont.

Five Argentines including debutant help Spain to victory
Spain opened their 2023 with a win over the Netherlands. It was not a convincing win, but it was a win nonetheless. Spain had former Los Pumas Sevens player, Estanislao Bay making his debut and scoring. He played scrum-half while four other Argentines played. Facundo Domínguez, Federico Casteglioni, Gonzalo López Bontempo, and Iñaki Mateu all started with Bautista Guemes covering fly half. Spain is under pressure to field fewer eligibility players and more homegrown. Powerhouse Scotland is worse and happily deteriorating. More on that in Under.

Chicago Hounds and American Raptors debut set for this coming Friday
The Chicago Hounds will take the field for the first time as a team on Friday. Rugby ATL and the American Raptors will take part in a three-team format with each playing two 40-minute games. All matches will take place in at the neutral venue of Frank Brown Park in Panama City Beach, Florida. Chicago have been busy training indoors but do not yet have their full compliment of players available. It remains to be seen who will take the field next weekend. Midfield signing Billy Meakes is one of those yet to arrive, the former Giltinis star is still training on his own in Los Angeles.

Chad Gough Answers Utah SOS Call
Chad Gough won’t be retiring just yet. The once-capped US Eagles hooker has answered the call from the Utah Warriors to stick around for the early weeks of the 2023 Major League Rugby season. Since joining from the Colorado Raptors ahead of the 2021 campaign, Gough has been a regular in the No2 shirt for the Warriors. This past season the 31-year-old played 13 matches including 9 starts. The club have not specified the length of his contract, only that it is ‘short-term’.

Irimescu makes Romania debut
Hooker Robert Irimescu debuted for Romania against Poland on Saturday as a replacement. The 26-year-old is from New York and earned Collegiate All-American honors while at Penn State. After three seasons of Major League Rugby with New York and DC, Irimescu opted to pursue international honors abroad and appeared for Romania ‘A’ against Italy ‘A’ last month. He speaks fluent Romanian and qualifies for the Oaks through his parents, who are both from Constanta.

Montiel joins Saracens in Premier 15s
Also making a first appearance on the weekend was Canadian international prop Maya Montiel. The University of Ottawa product made her test debut against the USA last year and narrowly missed out on World Cup selection. Montiel joined Saracens last week and over the weekend made her Premier 15s bow, packing down in the front row alongside fellow Canuck Alex Ellis in the one-sided win over Wasps.

 

UNDER

USA lose top talent to Ireland
Ireland added Roman Salanoa to their Six Nations training squad. Originally from Hawai’i, Salanoa represented USA at u20 level before moving to Ireland in 2017. The 25-year-old now qualifies under the five-year residency requirement. Strong form with Munster saw him named in the Emerging Ireland squad this past fall. There are mixed emotions as Salanoa’s personal success can be celebrated, but any hopes of him representing the Eagles are now lost.

Dallas communications failure ahead of MLR season
While the Jackals struggled mightily on the field last season, they built a connection with the local fan base and certainly kept them informed on the comings and goings of a squad that was constantly in flux. This season will see a stronger outfit on the field, but off it they are a mess to say the least with almost no indication of their squad for the coming season until an amateur-looking team sheet was posted for their preseason game. In the communications department Dallas gets a failing grade.