Up and Under

Up and Under is an Americas Rugby News exclusive. It identifies the best and the worst involving the Americas from the past seven days.

 

UP

Eagles Swallow Brazil with one bite
The USA had no trouble blasting through Brazil in La Vila on Saturday, outscoring their opponents by 8 tries to none for a final score of 48-3. The USA were better in a all areas of play. The North Americans started strongly and comfortably won. The USA now prepares for Spain with an eye on a Trophy to end the year on a high.

Joe Mano Makes the World Take Notice
A hat-trick on debut saw Joe Mano making the world take notice. Those watching the match saw the Utah Warrior over twice in the opening minutes before completing his hat-trick later on in the opening half. A long miss-out pass from Nick McCarthy found Mano wide open for the first, then Paddy Ryan looped around an attacking move to free Mano for his double. Luke Carty put mano over for his third.

Leones with Argentines Conquer Canada
Seven Argentines were on the Spanish roster to face Canada. The Spanish roster contains seven Argentine players. They are Joaquín Domínguez, Facundo Domínguez, Santiago Ovejero, Estanislao Bay, Martiniano Cian, Federico Casteglioni, and Iñaki Mateu. Bay scored two tries against Canada with Cian also scoring while Mateo kicked 6/6 at goal.

Italy Overflowing with Argentines
Over 75 Argentines play professional rugby in Italy. While they dominate the Americas player base in the Central European country they are certainly not alone. Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay and the USA all have players involved in Italy’s Serie A Elite, the national league. There are over a dozen Argentines in Italy’s URC teams with some capped and others worth following very closely.

New Coach for the Women’s Eagles
Sione Fukofuka is the new Head Coach of the Women’s Eagles. He makes the move from Australia, having just held an Assistant Coach role with the Wallaroos in their WXV campaign. Fukofuka is the permanent replacement for Rob Cain, with Rich Ashfield and more recently Milton Haig assuming interim Head Coach positions since the completion of last year’s World Cup.

Universitario Tucumán Crowned Champions
The day arrived for Universitario. The 80th year celebrations came with glory as the Tucumán club provee third tinme is a chama. Having lost the 2002 and 2009 finals, Universitario won the Torneo del Interior Final with a 25-21 victoree over Córdoba Athletic on Saturday. Puma Thomas Gallo watched on from the sidelines to see his friends triumphant.

SIC Celebrate URBA 2023 Title
With a 15-12 win over Alumni in the Buenos Aires elite final, SIC are the 2023 URBA Champions. The title was the 27th in history for SIC. Only CASI has more titles with 33. CUBA is third with 15. The league dates back to 1939. SIC will now face Universitario in the Nacional de Clubes final on November 18.

Argentine Junior Glory for Rosario 
Argentina’s u17 title is now in the hands of Rosario. Played at Jockey Club de Rosario, in Fisherton, Rosario downed Buenos Aires 34-22 in the final. It ended an eleven year wait for Rosario. The third largest city in the country finished as champions ahead of the largest while the second largest, Córdoba, finished third.

The Americas deliver in Top 14
It was a solid weekend for the Americas in the French elite. Canadian Tyler Ardron and Uruguayan Santiago Arata were both try scorers in a big win for Castres. Former Puma Facundo Gigena score his first try for Pau as did current Puma Ignacio Ruiz for Perpignan. Bautista Delguy scored for Clermont who conquered Montpellier on the road. Marcos Kremer had a 100% tackle rate on debut. His Pumas World Cup flanker partner, Juan Martín González, scored on debut for Saracens in England on Sunday.

Two more years for Ardron in France
Tyler Ardron has signed a two-year contract extension with Castres that will see him stay at the French Top 14 club through 2026. This season has seen the former Canada captain in top form, recently earning a nomination for Top 14 Player of the Week. While his club future is settled, it remains to be seen if Ardron will make a return at international level.

Zebre and Benetton Rare Double with Argentine Impact
Both Zebre and Benetton were winners this past weekend in the URC. The rarity involved a number of Argentines. Puma Gonzalo García was immense for Zebre; he looks like a certain replacement for Tomás Cubelli in 2024. Argentina XV’s Gerónimo Prisciantelli scored 9 of the team’s 12 points. Tomás Albornoz landed a conversion for Benetton while Ignacio Mendy has a try assist.

Two World Cup Pumas in Super Rugby Pacific
Two Argentines will play in Super Rugby Pacific 2024. The players are both fully capped Pumas who have appeared in Rugby World Cups. Both men are returning again after having played in prior Super Rugby campaigns for the Highlanders and Western Force respectively. Martín Bogado will play for the southern most New Zealand side and Santiago Medrano for the team representing Western Australia.

 

UNDER

Canada the Cannon Fodder
A 35-point first half gave Spain more than enough points to put away Canada on Saturday. With a final tally of six tries to two and a score of 42-20, Los Leones booked their place opposite the USA in next weekend’s mini-tourney finale. Canada will take on Brazil with Canadian fans, neutrals and anyone paying honest attention keen on seeing a new coaching regime.

Brazil Bruised and Buried
It was a match to show something already known: Brazil has gone backwards. The heights of the Rugby World Cup 2015-2019 cycle are a distant memory as Os Tupis are not good enough anymore. Brazil’s former glorious scrum is no more and the enterprising play under Rodolfo Ambrosio is lost in the sands of time. Brazil failed to score a single try against the USA. It was a performance by a team poorly coached.

Brazil decision underlines that Match Officials Must do a Better Job
A bizarre referee decision in the second half left Brazil down a man for a portion of the second half, but the South Americans were already well beaten. Hooker Endy Willian was off injured and replacement Henrique Ferreira was also forced off. Captain Wilton Rebolo moved to hooker only for referee Adam Jones, who speaks no Portuguese, to say no. Rebolo has caps at hooker but Jones said no because the Brazilian management did not mark Rebolo as a hooker on the team sheet.

Cam Dolan Forced Out
Veteran Eagle Cam Dolan was named to start for the USA against Brazil on Saturday. However, a late change saw Dolan dropping out due to illness. Sam Golla moved to lock with Vili Helu starting on the blindside flank. Siaosi Mahoni joined the bench. Dolan is 2 caps short of catching the second most capped Eagle in history, Mike MacDonald. He may now earn his 67th cap against Spain this coming weekend.

Esteban Meneses steps down as head coach of Uruguay
Uruguay will have a new head Coach in 2024. The long-time man in charge of Los Teros, Esteban Meneses has stepped down from the position. He coached Uruguay for all of the test team’s matches from 2016-2023. He replaced Pablo Lemoine in December 2015. Under Meneses Los Teros enjoy a golden era. Uruguay overtook both Canada and the USA to officially become the second best rugby test team in the Americas. This was on display in Rugby World Cup Qualifiers and also in World Cups.

Americas Shut Out of World Club Plans
Plans for a World Cup between professional rugby clubs sees the Americas missing. EPCR CEO, Dominic McKay confirmed a consensus between Europe and the ‘Southern Hemisphere’ exists to play a global tournament but that the Americas will not be involved. It is more of the same with the former Tri Nations being the South and the Six Nations being the north. Yet again global growth is not on the agenda.

Córdoba Tries not enough as Gloucester Flop
Matías Alemanno and Santiago Carreras both scored tries for Gloucester against Bath on Friday. The West Country derby saw Bath completing a road win. It was bitter-sweet for the Pumas players who both scored good tries but were well beaten late by Bath. Carreras played the match at fullback but was fly half throughout 2023 for Los Pumas. His future at Los Pumas is certain. Where he will play is far from clear.

From Major League Rugby to Super Rugby
A handful of Major League Rugby’s best players from the 2023 campaign have been named in Super Rugby Pacific rosters for the 2024 season. Six players from the most recent season were named, with another 11 who have previously experienced professional rugby in North America. All told ex-MLR players appear in 10 of the 12 teams in the Pacific competition.