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

South America Outlast Black Lion
South America registered a home win over Black Lion on Friday. The Sudamérica XV had home advantage against the Georgians in Montevideo. Playing under the banner of the South American governing body, the Sudamérica XV converted a 14-5 half-time lead into a 28-24 victory.

Mark it down – Four Nations featuring three from the Americas
Spain will play host to a special competition in November. Los Leones will be the home team in a Four Nations series that will also involve Brazil, Canada and the USA. The end-of-year series will provide notable competition for all four. The four countries all missed out on places at Rugby World Cup 2023 but all are strong contenders for a expanded 24-team tournament. Expansion is long overdue.

Hat-Trick Hero Hattingh
Riekert Hattingh scored three tries to lead the Seawolves to a blowout 61-19 win over the Jackals at Starfire Stadium on Friday night. Seattle blitzed their guests with six tries in the first half and nine all told as Dallas struggled with discipline and accuracy throughout.

Free Jacks shut out defending champs
New England made it four wins on the trot as they shut out New York by a score of 8-0 at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Sunday. Wet and windy conditions limited expansive play and it was tactical kicking and the set piece that dominated large portions of the contest. The Free Jacks are starting to stretch away from the rest of the pack in the Eastern Conference, while the defending champions are well off the pace.

Legion Surge Past SaberCats
San Diego took a bonus-point 29-16 win over Houston at Snapdragon Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Though the SaberCats left with nothing to show for, the result was very much in doubt until two late scores from the Legion sealed the deal.

Strong Start Sees Pampas eat Cobras alive
Los Pampas can smell the Semi Finals. The Buenos Aires team started very well on Friday. They ate Os Cobras alive early on as the bonus point was wrapped up long before half-time. They slowed down thereafter as they went on to beat the Brazilian side 38-14.

Raptors and Peñarol play out a Barn Burner
The American Raptors and Peñarol put on a Barn Burner in Colorado on Sunday. In an absolute thriller, the Uruguayan visitors were 50-37 winners. There were thirteen tries scored in the match; three of them went to Manuel Diana who furthers himself as a the leading try scorer in the league.

Gonzalo García on the Mend
Having had his 2022 test season ended due to surgery, Gonzalo García then had his clip season injured. He underwent a second operation. The scrum-half is now back in training. He is preparing in Buenos Aires and will be available for World Cup selection.

Big Joe is Back
Joe Taufete’e is returning to Major League Rugby. The US Eagles front rower has signed on with the Houston SaberCats. Houston is the second MLR destination for ‘Big Joe’. He spent the 2022 campaign with the LA Giltinis before signing on with Leicester Tigers in the English Premiership.

Argentines into European Champions Cup and Challenge Cup Finals
Joel Sclavi will fly the flag of Argentina, and the Americas, in the European Champions Cup Final. Sclavi and La Rochelle were winners in their Semi Final against the Exeter Chiefs. They will face Leinster in the Final. The Irish province eliminated Toulouse with Juan Cruz Mallía a starter. Sebastián Cancelliere and the Glasgow Warriors are in to the Challenge Cup final against Facundo Isa’s Toulon. Toulon defeated Benetton with no shortage of Argentines. Additional Argentines may join

 

UNDER

MLR dishes out hefty suspensions after Coaches fight in New York
Major League Rugby issued hefty suspensions to the two coaches involved in an on-field scrap at Mount Vernon. Houston SaberCats Head Coach Pote Human and New York Ironworkers Head of High Performance Ollie Richardson will each miss the next six games of the season. The incident occurred during the hydration break in the first half of the game between the Ironworkers and SaberCats.

Fallen Arrows and Growing Injury Curse
NOLA secured a 40-24 bonus point victory over the Arrows on Sunday, but the scoreline flattered the Arrows who miraculously pulled ahead a couple minutes into the second half. Once the Gold figured out they actually had to score points to win, the tries came in a bunch. Toronto’s franchise record losing streak is now at seven games and there were more injuries with Fabian Goodall and Mitch Eadie departing the pitch at the same time.

Selknam Sing the Blues
In a match dominated by penalties the inferior of the two teams completed a 19-11 victory. Los Dogos’ win pushes the Córdoba side closer to a home Semi Final. Selknam are increasingly in danger of missing out on the play-off’s. Had Selknam been able to hold it together then they certainly would have won the contest. The Chileans were trying too hard; constantly giving away penalties out of frustration.

Time Out for Jesse Parete 
Jesse Parete will sit out the next two games for the Free Jacks. He was found guilty of deliberately stamping on ATL flyhalf Duncan van Schalkwyk during the first half of Saturday’s game at Fort Quincy. Parete received a yellow card on the play, and later received a second which meant red. Despite that being Parete’s second red card of the season – both from double-yellows – the judicial decision did not factor that into his punishment.

Axel Zapata to sit for Four Weeks
Houston SaberCats hooker Axel Zapata has been handed a four-week suspension for a dangerous tackle on New York Ironworkers Jason Emery. The incident occurred shortly after the 76-minute mark of Sunday’s match at Mount Vernon. Emery was sent from the field for an HIA immediately afterwards.