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

Silver for Los Pumas in Los Angeles
Argentina finished runners-up to New Zealand at the LA 7s this past weekend. It’s just the second podium finish for Los Pumas this season but they now sit in second overall, just ahead of South Africa on scoring differential. With half the season now in the books, the team looks in good shape to secure automatic qualification for Paris 2024.

USA and Canada Women off to Spain
Spain are in advanced talks to host a four-team international women’s tournament featuring Canada, South Africa, and the USA. The competition is set to be played during the Women’s Six Nations window in late March and early April.

Smith the standout as Seawolves make it two from two
A man-of-the-match performance from JP Smith led the Seattle Seawolves to a 28-22 victory over Rugby ATL at Starfire Stadium on Friday night. The South African scrumhalf scored one try himself and set up another for his captain as the 2022 Finalists made it two wins from two to start the new campaign.

SaberCats shine in comprehensive win over NOLA
The SaberCats earned a comfortable 35-14 victory over the Gold in Houston’s home opener at AVEVA Stadium on Saturday evening. Houston have picked up from where they left off last season but have added star quality to their outside backs with Drew Wild and Vereniki Tikoisolomone impressing.

Defending champs New York are back in business
After a disappointing loss on the road against Seattle to start the campaign, the defending champions romped to a record win over Toronto on Sunday. New York celebrated their return to their home state – and first match at Memorial Field – with a six-try performance. It wasn’t a great first half, but it’s hard to argue against a 39-3 final scoreline.

Legion-dary defense leads San Diego over New England
San Diego fans were treated to another impressive performance from the Legion, as they secured a 29-12 bonus-point win over the New England Free Jacks on Sunday. While the vaunted backline threatened, it was the defense of the home side that proved the difference in a physical contest. The Legion set the tone in the early minutes with shuddering tackles from Sama Malolo and Isaac Ross.

MLR 2023 Stadium Improvements
The sixth season of Major League Rugby saw one of the league’s most impressive venues take its first steps in record-setting fashion on opening weekend. All 12 teams will call one location their home this year. New York’s Memorial Field debuted this past weekend, and SeatGeek Stadium’s first appearance is just days away. The Chicago Hounds host the Utah Warriors on Sunday.

Selknam are the team to beat in Super Rugby Americas
Selknam entertained Los Pampas in Santiago on Saturday. The fixture saw two winning teams from week one of Super Rugby Americas battling-it-out in a competitive match in Santiago. Selknam were deserved 34-20 winners. Two late Pampas tries really should not have been scored. Regardless, Selknam has been the most impressive team thus far in Super Rugby Americas. Chile’s RWC debut will likely be comparatively well prepared when compared to debutants from prior tournaments including Georgia, Portugal, Russia Spain, Uruguay.

Andrés Vilaseca continues to deliver for Vannes
Andrés Vilaseca had another strong match for Vannes this past week. The Uruguayan was a try scorer for Vannes in their 29-13 win over Aurillac. Vannes are now just 5 points out of the play-off’s zone. Not only will Vilaseca be leading Uruguay at the World Cup later this year, the team simply needs him. Peñarol’s attack in 2022 had his ball-carrying as a constant. The team had no such player against the American Raptors on Friday.

Pumas put up their hands for Cheika
Martín Bogado Super Rugby Pacific debut. Santiago Cordero scored a hat-trick for Bordeaux against Perpignan. Try Marcos Kremer vs champions Montpellier. Joel Sclavi scored for La Rochelle who defeated Brive. The losing team scored one try which was from Argentine rookie Francisco Corria. Matías Alemanno try for Gloucester vs Northampton.

USA Hawks to face Super Rugby Americas teams
More interregional rugby is on its way in the Americas. The USA Hawks will play matches against Super Rugby Americas teams. Games are to take place in both South America and North America. Officially a USA Rugby development team, the USA Hawks were founded in 2005. The team competed in the North American 4 (NA4) as one of two USA teams.

Georgia building Strong Relations with South America
In an exciting development, Black Lion will tour South America in April and May. The Georgian Rugby Union has confirmed that the professional team will face Super Rugby Americas teams Los Dogos, Los Pampas, Peñarol, Selknam and a Sudamérica XV. Georgia’s front-line home-based players are Black Lion players. The tour will see them up against South American players from Chile and Uruguay who will play at the World Cup.

 

UNDER

Uruguay struggling to secure World Cup warm-up matches
Uruguay is struggling to secure World Cup warm-up fixtures. At present Uruguay does not have any games scheduled prior to Rugby World Cup 2023. Warm-up matches are to take place in July and August. Uruguay has attempted to secure matches against teams from Europe and Oceania without success. With three Tier 1 opponents at the World Cup, Los Teros will be undercooked to say the least.

George Killebrew out as MLR Commissioner
George Killebrew is no longer Commissioner of Major League Rugby. After weeks of speculation that his time with the league was coming to an end, a formal announcement indicated that Killebrew has stepped down from the position he has held for the past three years. Nic Benson is the new CEO, with the ‘Commissioner’ title seemingly discarded as well.

Double-F for Rugby ATL communications department
Last week Dallas were the villains, but this week it was ATL who are in the doghouse when it comes to team releases. Not only was their roster not publicly available until just a few hours before kick-off, virtually the entire backline was listed at the wrong position. The players are doing their job on the field. Off it, however, the organization has plenty of room for improvement.

Injuries send Arrows off target yet again
Are the Arrows just cursed or are they doing something wrong in training? Last season was a nightmare in terms of injury disruptions and Toronto is already in trouble this year. On Sunday they were forced to take the pitch without an experienced No10 after Sam Malcolm, Noel Reid, and finally Shane O’Leary were all ruled out. The result was a record defeat against New York. Arrows HQ has a bye week to figure things out before the road game against Chicago.

NOLA nowhere against Houston
For a second straight week the Gold put in a performance well short of expectations. The continued absence of flankers Andrew Guerra and Devin Short isn’t helping matters, but NOLA simply aren’t playing to their potential. Poor defense and mistakes at critical moments have plagued the team in their two opening matches. Tom Florence has been a rare bright spot.

Dallas goal-kicking woes
The Jackals thankfully improved their team announcement this week and they were also better on the pitch. With first choice halfbacks Pedro Imhoff and Martin Elias debuting, they matched Utah try-for-try but evidently left their kicking boots at home. With zero conversions between Elías and Adriaan Carelse, the Warriors got the win and Dallas settled for a four-try bonus point.

Jackals lose Marcos Moroni
The first suspension of the 2023 MLR season went to Dallas Jackals winger Marcos Moroni. He recklessly stuck out a boot in the Round 1 clash against Houston and pled guilty in front of the judiciary. With an otherwise clean disciplinary record, it was determined that a three-week suspension was appropriate.

Suspensions for Cobras’ Bad Boys
Os Cobras have suffered a double blow. Veteran players Adrio de Melo and Robert Tenório were both suspended. Both men were red carded in against Los Pampas in São Paulo. de Melo is out of three matches, a notable loss for the team; more so considering he is the vice-captain.

Pampas backs out following reckless Cobras defense
Los Pampas were forced to make changes from round one to round two. This included a new captain as Juan Pablo Castro was forced out with facial trauma, including a fracture. The incident had seen Os Cobras red carded and the same happened to Jerónimo Ulloa. Both players missed Los Pampas‘ match against Selknam this past Saturday.

Unconvincing Start by Peñarol
Peñarol battled past the Raptors on Friday. The 28-19 home win saw the 2022 SLAR champions opening their 2023 campaign with a victory. A win is a win, granted; yet, the performance really was not good. Peñarol genuinely struggled against a side that Selknam had hammered six days earlier.

Pampas Outmuscled by Committed Opposition from across the Andes
Los Pampas were the second best team in Santiago on Saturday. Selknam won the match decisively on the scorecard and did so by winning battles across many different categories. Selknam had a better scrum, better lineout, better breakdown results, better maul, better scrum-half distribution, better play-making, better ball-carrying, and better defense. Los Pampas need to lift their performance for their home debut this coming Friday against the Raptors.