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

San Diego outsprint Dallas in high-scoring shootout
The San Diego Legion made it a club-high six wins in a row as they scraped past the Jackals by a final score of 47-38 at Choctaw Stadium. Dallas fought back from a 16-point deficit late in the game to make it interesting, but the visitors did just enough to come away with the bonus point victory in a wild shootout that 13 tries split between the two sides.

Seattle deliver against improved Toronto
The Toronto Arrows showed improvement from their nightmare against New England, but it wasn’t enough as the Seawolves secured a 36-27 result at York Lions Stadium on Sunday. While the target of a bonus point victory was achieved, Seattle coach Allen Clarke will not have been satisfied with the performance that was lackadaisical at times from the Western Conference contenders.

NOLA Strike Gold in Chicago
The NOLA Gold bounced back from a pair of defeats with a confident 37-24 win over the Chicago Hounds at SeatGeek Stadium on Sunday afternoon. A runaway first half was the difference as the visitors poured on 31 points before coasting through the final quarter, with the home side salvaging a losing bonus point thanks to the positive impact of their replacements.

Yacare march towards Super Rugby Americas Play-Offs
Yacare are marching towards the Super Rugby Americas 2023 play-off’s. The Paraguayan side were 34-30 bonus point winners over Os Cobras on Sunday evening. The win moves Yacare six points above Selknam to now have a firm hold on 4th position in the standings. Paraguayans Sebastián Urbieta and Marcos Riquelme both scored tries.

Raptors come right against Selknam in Freezing Colorado
The American Raptors did it. The team from Colorado completed their first win in Super Rugby Americas. The 26-22 win saw the home side in control for the bulk of the contest. A late fightback saw Selknam claim two bonus points. The result was a remarkable turn-around. Six days ago the Raptors were humiliated 65-0 at home by Los Pampas. The Raptors are now less than a win behind Os Cobras.

Peñarol prove to be the Real Deal against Dogos
The Uruguayans enjoyed a magnificent opening half to set themselves up for a solid win. The 33-15 victory takes Peñarol above Los Dogos to top spot in the Super Rugby Americas table. Peñarol outscored the Córdoba side by four tries to two. Manuel Diana furthered his claim for Super Rugby Americas MVP with a double.

Pampas hold firm against Black Lion in pulsating contest
A pulsating contest played out in Buenos Aires on Saturday. Professional teams from Argentina and Georgia faced-off with the home side holding firm in the final minutes to complete a 24-21 victory. Los Pampas scored two tries, the first going to man-of-the-match Joaquín Lamas. The Los Pumas 7’s play-maker scored 19 points in the match

Argentine Power Over for Tries in Europe
Michael Cheika did not select Facundo Bosch in 2022 but the Bayonne hooker is on top of his game. He powered over vs Montpellier on Saturday. Fellow front-rower Joel Sclavi was a try scorer. He again proved to be a weapon from close range as he scored for La Rochelle vs Clermont. Joaquín Oviedo scored two for Perpignan against Racing 92. Meanwhile, Benjamín Urdapilleta booted 16 points for Castres against Toulon.

Get Out of Jail Part 1 – Success
Brive are bottom of the Top 14. The team needs knocked-over Pau on Saturday to complete part 1 of Top 14 survival. Lucas Paulos, Axel Muller, Rodrigo Bruni and Nicolás Sánchez all started. Sánchez captained the side and scored 17 points. Remaining matches are Montpellier away, Castres at home and Toulouse away. Brive has 31 points, Perpignan 39 and Pau 42.

 

UNDER

Uruguay Secures Light World Cup Warm-Up Fixtures
Four years on from beating Fiji in Kamaishi, Japan Los Teros will go in to the Rugby World Cup following a series of light matches. Uruguay will face Chile, Namibia and the Argentina XV. Efforts were made to secure matches against opposition from Europe and Oceania only every union approached was not interested in playing in Montevideo. The Uruguay vs Namibia RWC match is now also a warm-up. This is not in the interests of either team.

Pumas, Jaguares, UAR and Logo Changes
From out of nowhere the UAR made an announcement last week. It revealed that there will be changes to all logos worn by Argentine representative teams. For the biggest team, the Men’s test side, the UAR logo will be removed from the badge with the Jaguar being replaced by a Puma. This was not greeted warmly by fans nor by members of the Argentine media. There was no consultation process and the changes were slammed across social media.

Paul Lasike Down and Out
There is bad news for Warriors fans with confirmation that Paul Lasike will play no further part in the 2023 campaign after suffering a knee injury against the Free Jacks. Utah are not in panic mode, however, with strong midfield options already on the roster in Tyler Fisher, Calvin Whiting, Mika Kruse, and Tomasi Tonga. Kruse had been playing on the wing but has recently impressed in the No13 shirt. Lasike would be a key player for the USA in France 2023; but, the Eagles will not play in the World Cup.

Ugly scene mars Houston road win over New York
The Houston SaberCats earned a bonus-point victory over the New York Ironworkers by a final score of 34-27 at Memorial Field on Sunday. An ugly scene that saw two coaches sent from the field mid-way through the first half took the shine off what was an otherwise competitive and entertaining contest.

Factor in Bad Boy Gideon van Wyk
Houston’s troubles began before kick-off. SaberCats were without No8 Gideon van Wyk over the weekend and will remain so for the coming weeks. He was suspended after being sent off against Dallas for a head-on-head clearout of Tomás Baravalle. van Wyk is tentatively eligible to return against Utah on May 20, but don’t be surprised if the suspension is reduced by a week thanks to World Rugby’s coaching intervention program’ policy that has already been used by three players this season.

Damm Hammer Blow for Rugby ATL
Rugby ATL lost hooker Tiaan Erasmus and have since been hit with a hammer blow as Eagles No8 Jason Damm is out for the season after undergoing knee surgery. The loss of the workhouse that is Jason Damm is huge for the Rattlers. There is also concern for Rowan Gouws as the scrumhalf came off at halftime against NOLA and did not return. Replacements for all three players have been sorted.

Warriors Winning Streak Ends
Old Glory DC brought a halt to the Utah Warriors’ four-game winning streak with an impressive 36-22 victory at Segra Field on Saturday. The kickoff was delayed by an hour due to heavy rain but when it finally kicked off it was DC who took it to the Warriors, starting strong and finishing in style.

Selknam Counting the Cost of Eyeing the World Cup 
Having won their opening two matches of Super Rugby Americas 2023, Selknam have since gone on to lose five in-a-row. It has not been due to the players performing below their best; rather, Selknam’s season is all about preparing players for the World Cup. Massive player rotation has meant on-field results are largely unimportant. The loss against the Raptors on Saturday was another game with plenty of player experimentation.

Matías Garafulic Goal-Kicking Woes
A feature of Saturday’s Super Rugby Americas match was the goal-kicking. Matías Garafulic was far below his best with a 1/4 return. Of note is that he handled the kicking despite the reliable Santiago Videla also playing the full 80 minutes. Even though the Raptors were the better team the facts is that had Selknam landed their kicks then they would have won instead of losing by four points.

USA Hawks outmatched by Pumitas
The Argentina u20’s side, Los Pumitas, feasted on the USA Hawks. Played on Friday, the second of two matches between the teams, Los Pumitas were 26-0 winners in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 26-0 win followed the 33-12 win on April 15. Franco Rossetto, Benjamín Grondona, Genaro Podestá, Maximiliano Fiscella all touched down in the try zone. Valentino Dicapua landed three out of his four conversion attempts.

0-18
Zebre are down and out. The misery has come to an end. The professional team based in Parma, Italy lost every match in the United Rugby Championship (URC) this season. The final match was a 50-35 loss against the Lions in Johannesburg, South Africa. Argentines Guido Volpi, Juan Pittinari and Gerónimo Prisciantelli featured in the season closing match for Zebre.