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

Free Jacks Clinch Eastern Conference Finals Spot
The New England Free Jacks have booked their place in the Eastern Conference Final. They were convincing 57-20 winners over the Toronto Arrows on Saturday. A capacity crowd at Veterans Memorial Stadium watched the home side pour on nine tries while conceding just two to the visitors.

Pampas win War of Attrition against Yacare with Time Up
It was a war of attrition in Buenos Aires. Los Pampas came-from-behind to win the match 25-24 with time up. Rodrigo Fernández Criado scored with time up while Joaquín Lamas booted 20 points. The result means that there will be an all-Argentine Semi Final with Los Pampas playing away to Los Dogos in Córdoba. Meanwhile, Yacare will travel to Montevideo to face Peñarol.

Peñarol All Smiles in El Clásico
El Clásico went the way of Peñarol and with ease. The Uruguayans led throughout. Around the field the Uruguayans were better organized. They worked better together and adjusted to what was in front of them. The four tries to one win has Peñarol in good stead ahead of hosting Yacare in the Semi Finals this coming weekend.

Raptors Fly High in São Paulo
The Raptors were 38-34 winners over Os Cobras on Sunday. The result saw the Raptors overtaking Os Cobras to avoid the Super Rugby Americas 2023 wooden spoon. The Raptors ran in six tries with backs and forwards scoring well-taken tries. The team may have unearthed some names for the USA Eagles. Uruguayan Diego Magno helped his campaign to play in a third World Cup greatly.

Argentines Star for Rovigo in Italian Top 10 Final
Rovigo are the 2023 Italian Top 10 Champions. Rovigo overcome Petrarca 16-9 in the final on Sunday. Argentine Bautista Stavile was man of the match. Fellow Argentine Facundo Ferrario captained Rovigo from fullback. Stavile played SLAR for Selknam and Ferrario did so for Los Cafeteros. Puma Lautaro Bazán Vélez and fellow Argentine Lautaro Casado both also played for the Italian champions on Sunday.

Pumas Close Top 14 Regular Season With Burst of Tries
The final round of the Top 14 season saw Pumas winger Santiago Cordero crossing for Bordeaux vs Toulon and Juan Imhoff scoring for Racing 92 vs Clermont. Santiago Grondona Pau scored for Montpellier. Of note is Pau have used him as a second-rower. Pau are officially safe from relegation while Perpignan await Grenoble. Brive have been relegated. Santiago Chocobares scored a double for Toulouse against Brive. Chocobares had an excellent match. His powerful carriers are music to Argentina’s ears.

 

UNDER

Red Thunderbolts for Clemente Saavedra 
Selknam were a man down for ten minute of the first half. Clemente Saavedra then got a second yellow card to be red carded. His second was for foul play and would have been a red on its own. His earlier yellow just made it easy for the officials. Saavedra had a strong season for Selknam but let his frustrations get the better of him on occasion. Transferring to World Cup mode will help him and his colleagues.

Chicago comeback denied by late Houston score
A late try from Gideon van Wyk saved Houston from an embarrassing defeat at SaberCats Stadium on Saturday night. After taking a 33-7 lead in the first half, the visiting Chicago Hounds fought back to tie the game only to see the home side steal back the win with just a minute to play. Houston were 40-33 winners.

Houston Sweating on Missing Men
The Houston SaberCats lost two starters in the first half against the Utah Warriors. Tighthead prop Morgan Mitchell came off with a recurring nerve problem in his back. Star flyhalf Davy Coetzer took a knock on the knee. Both players will sit out this coming weekend’s game against Chicago as a precaution.

Atlanta Off the Pace in Utah
Rugby ATL were beaten 28-12 by the Utah Warriors. The defeat followed a shock home loss against the Dallas Jackals. Prior to that, Atlanta won against newcomers Chicago but lost to the high-flying New England. In short, Rugby ATL are off the pace. There is now just 1 point between Atlanta in 4th and NOLA in 5th in the East.

Toronto Arrows Injury Woes
The Toronto Arrows lost three more players in Thursday’s draw against DC. Loosehead prop Lolani Faleiva went down with a twisted ankle just before the first hydration break. Mitch Richardson was next to fall just a few minutes later, the midfielder helped off in clear distress. The third man down was second row Adrian Wadden, who left for an HIA just past the half-hour mark and did not return.

Stan South Calls it a Day
Old Glory DC lock Stan South announced his retirement from professional rugby. The 26-year-old was forced to call it quits on medical grounds, after suffering an ultimately career-ending injury after making just one appearance during the 2023 campaign. South had been an integral part of DC’s pack since arriving ahead of the 2021 season, and was vice-captain this year. He played in 24 regular season games for Old Glory, all but one of them starts.

Cobras Land the Wooden Spoon
Super Rugby Americas 2023 ended with Os Cobras finishing bottom. Rookie competitors, the Raptors avoided the wooden spoon. Os Cobras are yet to reach the play-off’s. This is different to how teams from Chile and Paraguay have performed. Brazil was better than Chile during the RWC 2015-2019 cycle. Chile made adjustments to now be heading to the World Cup. Selknam was Chile only. Yacare was heavily Argentine. Again, the same question from prior years – is losing fine so long as Brazilians are the bulk or do Cobras need more foreigners?

Concerns for Juan Cruz Mallía
While Santiago Chocobares ran in two tries for Toulouse on Sunday, fellow Argentine Juan Cruz Mallía left the match injured. Mallía was forced off after taking a hit. He played wing for Toulouse and has been center, fullback and fly half in other matches. Argentina have clear vision for him to be the Pumas fullback at the World Cup.