Up and Under

The Up and Under is a weekly feature on Americas Rugby News. It takes a look at the highs and the lows involving the Americas during the past week.

 

UP

South American 4 Nations Locked in for August
The 2023 South American 4 Nations is coming in August. Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Paraguay will compete in the tournament. All teams will face every other, thereby playing three matches each. The tournament will take place at the home of Paraguayan rugby, the Estadio Héroes de Curupayty in Asunción. Brazil, Colombia and Paraguay will all compete as their test teams. Chile will compete as the next-of-XV, the Chile XV.

Uruguay hold on to win at home against Chile
Uruguay and Chile began their RWC warm-up matches on Saturday. Los Teros were 26-25 winners over Los Cóndores. Uruguay score three first half tries to zero to be in control at half-time. A late flourish from Chile saw two tries in the second half. Uruguay scored one. The forwards were evenly matches. Uruguay’s backs had an edge.

Argentina XV down Namibia
Namibia’s on-field road to Rugby World Cup 2023 began on Saturday in Montevideo. The Welwitschias faced the Argentina XV in a non-capped international. It was the second best African test team facing the Argentine next-of-XV. Namibia fought back from a 26-8 half-time deficit to claim the lead during the second half. It gave the Argentina XV a fright from which they recovered to win 34-27.

Domination for Canada in women’s u23 series
Canada blew past the USA in their u23 ‘Border Battle’ series with scores of 24-5 and 55-14 in Boston over the past week. Despite having only a few days together to prepare, the Maple Leafs proved the superior side in virtually every capacity. Smothering defense and a dominant forward pack set the stage with several standouts putting up their hands for senior honors.

USA u20’s Spring to Life with Big Win Over Hong Kong
The USA ended their Junior World Trophy campaign on a high. Following a disappointing run of results against Uruguay, Zimbabwe and Scotland, the u20’s Eagles sprang to life with a big win over Hong Kong. The USA’s 47-22 win sees the North Americans handing Hong Kong the wooden spoon. Hayden McKay was the star for the USA with a hat-trick.

Spain and Uruguay put on a thriller in u20 Trophy Final
Spain and Uruguay played out a thriller on Sunday. The u20 teams competed in what was an excellent game of rugby to contest the 2023 Junior World Trophy Final. In a match with the lead changing hands, Spain finished as 39-32 winners. It is positive news for rugby; two teams from outside of the traditional base are developing well.

Miami Sharks Take Shape 
Major League Rugby held an expansion draft this past week to help populate the roster of the newest franchise – the Miami Sharks. Beginning play in the 2024 season, the Sharks will look to be competitive right out of the gate with several notables among the list of 25 players selected. The franchise is also bringing in three of Uruguay’s finest players for MLR 2024.

MLR talent spread throughout New Zealand NPC
Major League Rugby will be well represented when New Zealand’s National Provincial Championship kicks off next weekend. An impressive 45 players who took part in the 2023 season will be suiting in the competition that runs through October, with another 17 former MLR players involved. The largest contingent, perhaps predictably, comes from the newly-crowned champions New England.

 

UNDER

South Africa edge Argentina in Brutal Contest
South Africa edged Argentina in a brutal contest on Saturday. The Springboks were 22-21 winners in a match in which Argentina missed three kicks at goal and was on top in the second-half.  The teams put on match of note. Both teams played elite-level rugby. There is reason to suggest that both have the means to be highly competitive at Rugby World Cup 2023. 

Pumas Lacking Game Time Face Nervous Wait
Pumas lacking game time face a nervous wait ahead of the World Cup announcement. All teams will have 33-men rosters. Michael Cheika’s selections and non-selections provide notable insight into his intentions for the World Cup in France. Five players toured Australia and South Africa but missed out on game time. Sebastián Cancelliere, Santiago Cordero, Matías Orlando, Guido Petti and Mayco Vivas all now face a nervous wait.

Second-Row Solution
Pedro Rubiolo was on early for Los Pumas in Johannesburg. Lucas Paulos was knocked-out; he took a hard blow of a knee to his head while attempting the tackle. The loss of Paulos sounded second-row Alarm bells. Guido Petti is yet to play in 2023, Matías Alemanno will not play again before the World Cup while Marcos Kremer is suspended until days before Argentina’s final warm-up match against Spain. Lavanini and Kremer playing together against England is a real possibility.

Chile down to 13 in World Cup Warm-Up
Uruguay’s first try against Chile was a 12th minute penalty try. It came with Chilean flanker Ignacio Silva being yellow carded for collapsing. Following the restart, Chile were down to 13 on the field. Fullback Iñaki Ayarza was yellow carded for an aerial collision with his opposite number Baltazar Amaya. Cóndores’ discipline must improve for the World Cup.

Yo no habla español. Such is the ‘Global Game’
It has gone on for too long; World Rugby continue to allocate referees to matches based on dated criteria. Luke Pearce is a leading official who will be in charge of some of the biggest matches at the World Cup. He referees in English not Spanish. What was he doing officiating Uruguay vs Chile? He told the players “my Spanish is terrible.” The assistant referees were both Argentines from Super Rugby Americas. As it happened there were incidents, including a try, wherein players did not understand the referee. Both teams are Spanish-Speaking; hence, problems were avoidable.

Make that double ‘español global game’ Jeopardy from World Rugby
Uruguay and Spain played in the u20 Trophy Final on Sunday with Spain winning promotion to the 2024 u20 Championship. The match was a perfect chance for a Spanish-Speaker to officiate in preparation for Argentina vs Chile at the World Cup. No Spanish-Speaker is on the panel for the World Cup. The problem is not a lack of opportunities to have matches officiated in Spanish; rather, it is World Rugby’s management of officials.

World Cup scare for Santiago Arata 
Uruguay’s World Cup preparations have been given a scare. Star scrum-half is out of the Rugby World Cup warm-up matches. He fractured a finger in training and has undergone surgery. He missed Saturday’s match against Chile and will not face Namibia or the Argentina XV.  It is certain that Arata will be Uruguay’s starting scrum-half when fit. He is aiming to play in Los Teros‘ opener against France on September 14 in Lille.

Winless Eagles in the Pool Phase
The reason the USA battled to avoid the Junior World Trophy wooden spoon is that the Eagles had a miserable pool phase. The North Americans went 0-3. The Eagles fell to a 38-37 loss against Zimbabwe after losses against Scotland and Uruguay. The Eagles were competitive but unable to piece together a complete performance for the duration of their pool matches.

Titi Lamositele makes Manu Samoa debut
If there was any grey area as to the chances of Titi Lamositele turning out for the USA again, it is now gone after the 32-test Eagles prop debuted for Manu Samoa against Fiji on Saturday. While one can celebrate his selection and the opportunity to play in the upcoming World Cup, at the same time it’s undeniably a sad day for American rugby to see one of the USA’s top professionals close the door on the team that brought him into the international stage.

Farewell from two Eagles
Former Eagles Dino Waldren and Ryan Matyas have announced their retirements from professional rugby. Both players are 32 years old. Waldren, a tighthead prop with NOLA Gold, steps away after winning 22 test caps. Matyas has been a star performer for San Diego since the team’s inception. He appeared in 14 tests and also represented the USA on the World Sevens Series.