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

Argentina deliver famous Rugby Championship away win in Australia
Los Pumas went to Sydney and conquered the largest Australian city. The South Americans showed great coverage and patience to win 34-31 in the final act of the match. The result gives the Argentines a notable boost with the World Cup in under two months time. Juan Martín González scored the match winner for Los Pumas.

Beukeboom hat trick leads Canada to big win over Australia
Canada cruised to a one-sided 45-7 win over Australia to wrap up the Pacific Four at TD Place in Ottawa on Friday night. Player of the Match Tyson Beukeboom celebrated her 60th test cap with three tries in an all-action performance to lead the way for the Maple Leafs. Both teams will now compete in the top tier of the year-end WXV tournament. Before that Canada will travel to England for two tests against the Red Roses in late September.

Late Smiles Favor Uruguay
Uruguay came away with a dramatic 33-31 win over the USA in the opening round of the World Rugby u20 Trophy in Nairobi on Saturday. A poor start saw the North Americans having to claw their way back in the game, but a lack of discipline gave the South Americans a chance to recover from an 8-point deficit late in the game to claim victory.

Wilton Rebolo continues his career in Northland
In a historic move, Northland have signed Wilton Rebolo. The Brazilian will be the first ever from his country to play in New Zealand’s National Provincial Championship (NPC). Rebolo joins during the Super Rugby offseason; he played Super Rugby Pacific 2023 for the Western Force. Rebolo will return to Australia to play for the Western Force in Super Rugby Pacific 2024. The 28-year-old front-rower is a native of Catanduva in São Paulo state.

Giant Leap from Rodrigo Isgró
The decision to select 7’s players raised initial eye-brows. It did not take long for the decision to be applauded and that was before seeing them play at the test level. Rodrigo Isgró made his test debut in the win over Australia. It was a cauldron of fire, but Isgró truly looked the part. He had a solid match and will certainly play more. This may be bad news for other Pumas wingers, and there are many competing for the four spots on the World Cup roster.

Hearts Pounding as Argentina finish u20 Championship on a High
Hearts were pounding as Argentina defeated Fiji on Friday. The 43-22 win saw Los Pumitas finishing 9th in the World Rugby u20 Championship in South Africa. Fiji finished 10th. Captain Eliseo Chiavassa scored two tries against the Fijians. Both teams will be back again for the 2024 tournament which will also be played in South Africa.

Chile are Red and White to Go
Chile will be playing in traditional colors at Rugby World Cup 2023. Los Cóndores will have red shirts as their regular or home uniform and have white anther alternative. This matches the regular jerseys worn by Chile, though the team has played in blue on occasion. Los Cóndores will compete at Pool D of Rugby World Cup 2023. Chile’s matches will be against Argentina, England, Japan and Samoa. The regular red jersey is expected to be Chile’s main uniform for the matches.

World Rugby Finally Give a South American a Chance with the Whistle
Damián Schneider refereed the final of the 2023 World Rugby Under 20 Championship. Played on Friday, the event marked the first time an official from Argentina has officiated a major final. Schneider’s appointment follows heavy involvement in South American activity. He was busy in the Super Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR) and its rebranded competition, Super Rugby Americas. He officiated the recent Super Rugby Americas 2023 Final. He has years of experience in the test arena but World Rugby has never appointed him to a Tier 1 match.

 

UNDER

Red Cannot Save USA against New Zealand
New Zealand overcame an early red card and a 17-5 halftime deficit to defeat the USA 39-17 at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa on Friday. The victory gives the Black Ferns a clean sweep in the Pacific Four, and formally casts the Eagles into the second tier of the year-end WXV tournament. Freda Tafuna and Rachel Johnson scored tries for the Eagles.

Not Good Enough from the TMO 
Australia were up early against Argentina. Len Ikitau’ try was checked by the Two for grounding and for whether, or not, Emiliano Boffelli had made a wrap in the tackle. Both were checked with the try awarded and the tackle deemed appropriate. What was never looked at was the pass from Quade Cooper which was forward. This is 2023; the try should never have been allowed.

USA in early trouble at Junior World Trophy
The USA fell to a 33-31 loss against Uruguay on Saturday. The match was part of the opening round of the Junior World Trophy in Kenya. The loss could have been avoided; yet, that is only part of the damage. What is around the corner for the Junior Eagles is a clash with heavyweights Scotland. With the Scots expected to top the group the result against Uruguay was vital.

Nervous Wait on Alemanno
Veteran Puma Matías Alemanno was forced off two minutes in to the second half in Sydney. He was injured after a collision with teammate Pablo Matera. Matera’s leg collided with Alemanno’s knee. Assessments are well underway.; Argentina need him back or will need to have a major rethink. Guido Petti remains sidelined, Franco Molina is out for the year and Marcos Kremer is suspended until the World Cup warm-up match against Spain.

Time Running out for Nicolás Sánchez
Nicolás Sánchez’s chances of playing in the World Cup are balanced. Santiago Carreras is the starting fly half and the remaining spot is a choice between Sánchez or Tomás Albornoz. Sánchez has all the experience. He earned his 97th cap on Saturday. He was a replacement. González’ try saved Los Pumas after Sánchez had thrown a poor pass which was intercepted for a 95 meter Wallaby try. Albornoz is nine years younger than Sánchez. He was a regular for Benetton in the URC this past season. He is primed for an opportunity.