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

Jamaica out to break Gibraltar
Jamaica will play a test match in March in Europe. In what will be the third match between Jamaica and Gibraltar in four years, the teams will clash in Gibraltar on Saturday, Match 25. The match will be played at Europa Sports Park. The same venue played host to the same fixture in January 2000. It opened international competition for the year. Jamaica won what was a thrilling match 17-15.

Argentina’s best identified for World Cup Camp
Argentina is in World Cup mode. A 40-man roster will train together in Paris from Monday, March 13 to Wednesday, March 15. The roster is 38 players with 2 having been included on an invitational basis due to injuries at scrum-half. The players included as well as those excluded provide key details as to Michael Cheika’s intentions for the World Cup.

Sammy the Boot brilliance sees Arrows past Hounds
Sam Malcolm produced one of the great individual performances in Major League Rugby history on Saturday to lead Toronto to a 27-26 win over Chicago at SeatGeek Stadium. Amidst rain mixed with snow at times, the Arrows flyhalf scored every single point for his team including a match-winning drop goal in the 77th minute.

Seawolves still perfect after beasting SaberCats
The Seattle Seawolves are now the only remaining unbeaten team in Major League Rugby after a pulsating 24-12 victory over the Houston SaberCats on Saturday night. It was closer than the scoreline suggested with mistakes at key moments denying the visitors a bonus point. For 80 minutes, however, the two sides went toe-to-toe with a passionate crowd giving the game a playoff atmosphere.

Peñarol remain unbeaten in Super Rugby Americas
Peñarol made light work of Os Cobras on Friday evening in Montevideo. The Uruguayans were relentless in exposing the weaker opposition. The 33-7 win came despite a competitive start to the contest in Montevideo. In round five of Super Rugby Americas 2023 Peñarol host Yacare in Montevideo while Os Cobras take-on Selknam in São Paulo.

Dogos leave their mark on Chileans
Los Dogos handed Selknam their first defeat of Super Rugby Americas 2023. Playing at home in Córdoba, the competition leaders were 24-10 winners. They claimed a bonus point win, an outcome that could be vital later on in the campaign.

Yacare celebrate home win over Raptors
In their first home match of Super Rugby Americas 2023, Yacare impressed. The Paraguayan side were three tries to zero winners over the American Raptors. 25-3 victory gives Yacare back-to-back wins and a pace in the top four. The Raptors are winless after four rounds.

Argentine try scorers in English Premiership
Mateo Carreras continues to be the leading try scorer this season in England. He touched down on Saturday for the Newcastle Falcons. Julián Montoya was a try scorer on Sunday for the Leicester Tigers. Leicester defeated Gloucester on the road. London Irish had two Argentine try scorers; Agustín Creevy and Lucio Cinti both scored against the Sale Sharks.

Juan Ignacio Brex scores in Six Nations
Italy fell to Wales in Rome on Saturday. The Six Nations match saw former Argentina XV and Argentina Sevens player, Juan Ignacio Brex scoring for the home side. Brex was unable to breakthrough past the next-of-XV for his native Argentina. He made the move north and qualified for Italy via a grandparent; doing so due to the Olympic Loop hole.

 

UNDER

Pumas scrum half injuries
Argentina’s woes at scrum-half have seen speculation from leading rugby media in the country that Martín Landajo may make a test return. The 34-year-old is playing Super Rugby Americas for the Raptors. His last cap was five years ago. Of note is that Gonzalo Bertranou and Gonzalo García are both presently injured and the latter will be altogether absent from this week’s training camp in Paris.

World Cup dreams crushed
There was a longest of missing names from Argentina’s training camp. Michael Cheika’s list did not includes some notable names; presumably they are out of favor or out of the World Cup altogether. Names include Facundo Gigena, Facundo Bosch, Francisco Gorrissen, Tomás Lezana, Gonzalo García, Benjamín Urdapilleta, Lucas Mensa, and Ignacio Mendy.

Dallas shut down and shut out by San Diego
San Diego got back to their winning ways with a 22-0 shutout win over Dallas at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday. While the Legion were the dominant side, scrappy defense from the Jackals denied their hosts a four-try bonus point that could prove costly at the business end of the season.

Free Jacks beat DC but lose head and lose captain
A strong crowd at Veterans Memorial Stadium turned out to watch the Free Jacks defeat Old Glory 34-31 on Saturday afternoon. New England’s discipline nearly cost them the game with Jesse Parete the main villain conceding five penalties and two cards by himself. Making matters worse captain Josh Larsen injured his shoulder and is sure to be out for several weeks.

Hawks overwhelmed by Pampas in Buenos Aires
The USA Hawks came up against a formidable Pampas side at Casa Pumas in Buenos Aires on Friday. Though they held their own for parts of the first half, they young visitors were overwhelmed in the second 40 minutes and ultimately fell 69-14 after conceding 11 tries.

Selknam stopped with force in Córdoba
Selknam were expected to be on even footing or better against Los Dogos on Friday. What transpired was different; Los Dogos were the better team. The Córdoba side withstood a second half threat to win by a comfortable margin. The loss was Selknam’s first this season.

Raptors regroup in Colorado
The American Raptors return home from South America winless. Now regrouping in Denver, their Super Rugby Americas experience thus far has been a mix of competitive losses and heavy defeats. The latter was the outcome in Asunción on Saturday. The Raptors’ first home match in Super Rugby Americas will be against the table-toppers Los Dogos on March 24.

Winless Cobras down in the dumps
Super Rugby Americas 2023 has not stated well for the Raptors; yet, Os Cobras are in a notably worse state. The Brazilian side is also winless with a 0-4 record. Three of the four losses have been home matches. The most recent fixture saw Peñarol being far too good for their opponents. It is not so much of a question of what is going wrong? It is more about what is going right? Tactics and discipline are two key areas of concern.

Three Weeks of reflection for Martín Elías
Dallas Jackals flyhalf Martín Elías received a three-week suspension following his red card against the Seawolves. He was sent off by referee Federico Anselmi. In the act of jumping to corral a high ball, Elias stuck a boot out which caught Seattle winger Lauina Futi directly in the face. It was the same action that resulted in the suspension of Dallas winger Marcos Moroni following the season opener against Houston.