Up and Under – Special Edition** 2023 in Review **

In a special edition of Up and Under, ARN looks at 2023 in Review. As is the norm of Up and Under, the article covers the best and worst; however, this edition looks at what went well and what did not over the course of the year.

 

UP

Chile Make History 
Los Cóndores were the newcomers to the World Cup. In fact, Chile were the only debutants at a Rugby World Cup for more than a decade. The South Americans were outmatched but never gave up. Those in attendance cheered on Chile against Japan, Samoa, England and Argentina. Players have since been rewarded with contracts in Italy and the USA.

Uruguay Tick Off New Continent of World Cup Wins
By beating Namibia, Uruguay have wins over teams from varying regions of the world: Europe, Africa and Oceania. The wins came at Rugby World Cups 1999, 2003, 2019 and 2023. The win over the Africans was a comeback; Namibia opened an early 14-0 lead. Los Teros fought back to claim the lead and control the final quarter comfortably. Baltazar Amaya scored one try in each half for Los Teros. Additional tries were scored by Germán Kessler, Santiago Arata, and Bautista Basso.

USA Win Trophy in Spain
The USA Eagles did not have a bust year. Missing the World Cup also had the outcome of no matches during the Rugby World Cup warm-ups. The long wait ended in November with the USA, Canada and Brazil all traveling to Spain to compete for La Vila Cup. The USA defeated Brazil and the USA, but did not get to face Canada, to secure the trophy. Of note is that the competitors are positioned as strong candidates to qualify for Rugby World Cup 2027.

Argentina Make it Three Semi Finals from Past Five World Cups
Los Pumas started off Rugby World Cup 2023 poorly but recovered. Argentina defeated Samoa, Chile and Japan to finish second in Pool D. Los Pumas then put on a good showing to eliminated Wales in the Quarter Finals. The outcome meant Argentina were in the final four. It was Argentina’s third Semi Final in the past five Rugby World Cups. Los Pumas are yet to reach a final, though the tournament’s story was that of a team that responded and has plenty of youth to be better in 2027.

South Americans win Gold and Silver at Pan American Games
A heroic performance from Alejo Lavayén saw Argentina winning Gold at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago del Chile. Argentina defeated Chile 24-5 in the Final on Saturday. Lavayén scored a hat-trick as Argentina made it back-to-back Gold Medals at the Pan American Games. Chile’s Silver saw history being made. It marked the first ever rugby medal for Chile in Pan American Games history.

USA Women Claim Historic Gold at Pan American Games
The USA Women’s Eagles won Gold at the Pan American Games. With a 19-12 victory over Canada in the Final, the USA won Bronze while Canada claimed Silver. It marked a medal-double for the Canadians after the Men won Bronze. Canada won Gold and the USA Silver at the two previous editions of Women’s Rugby at the Pan American Games.

Uruguay u20 Underline Progress
Uruguay finished second in the 2023 Junior World Trophy. In a match with the lead changing hands, Spain finished as 39-32 winners. Uruguay’s road to the final saw some great rugby being played. Los Teritos showed precisely why the URU is doing a great job as Uruguay took care of business against Tier 1 powerhouse Scotland. The future looks good for Uruguayan rugby.

New England Free Jacks Make MLR History
2023 saw a new MLR champion. The New England Fee Jacks made history with a pulsating 25-24 victory over the San Diego Legion. More than 10,000 fans, an MLR Final record, took in the occasion at the neutral SeatGeek Stadium in Chicago and were treated to an instant classic with the game in the balance until the final whistle.

Peñarol Claim Super Rugby Americas Title
For many players, Uruguay’s preparations for the World Cup were tied-into Super Rugby Americas. Peñarol enjoyed an outstanding season. The Uruguayan side outlasted Los Dogos to claim a 23-17 win in the final. Thirteen of Peñarol’s starting XV went on to make the roster for the World Cup.

MLR Expands into the Midwest
2023 saw the Chicago Hounds competing in their debut season in Major League Rugby. The season had no shortage of drama for the Hounds. Some heavy losses, some very narrow ones and the joy of winning too. The first Chicago win was against the Dallas Jackals. The introduction of Chicago saw the midwest entering MLR.

Agustín Creevy and Nicolás Sánchez Join Diego Magno in 100 Cap Club
2023 saw the Americas going from one to three players in the elite club of 100 test caps. Uruguay’s Diego Magno was overtaken by Puma Agustín Creevy in 2023. Magno has 104 caps while Creevy now has 107 and Nicolás Sánchez has 104. Creevy also set a new record for caps at a Rugby World Cup for any Americas player.

Juan Martín Hernández into World Rugby Hall of Fame
El Mago joined Hugo Porta, Agustín Pichot, and Felipe Contepomi in the World Rugby Hall of Fame The former Pumas are officially recognized by World Rugby as all-time greats. Hernández was a once-in-a-generation player with a brilliant all-round skillset who made the game looked effortless. He won Top 14 championships with Stade Français playing fullback and fly half and played in Rugby World Cup Semi Finals at fly half and inside center.

 

UNDER

“World” Cup In France Again
France has the best professional rugby league anywhere on the planet. Many of the best players play in the Top 14. The country, though, has too much influence as France hosted Rugby World Cup 2023 so soon after 2007. This is also a reflection of rugby’s non-democratic voting structure. Tier 1 unions have excessive power. Scotland has 3 votes and the Vice Chairman is Scottish too. Uruguay has 1 vote.

World Cup Final Falls Flat
The Rugby World Cup results were depressing. It was a New Zealand vs South Africa final. That is the same two champions from the past four World Cups. South Africa won the World Cup after losing to Ireland in the group stage. New Zealand finished second after losing to France in the group stage. This is sport; these things happen. France winning and Ireland advancing further would have been new and interesting. Rugby desperately needs a new World Cup winner in 2027.

Refereeing Amateur Hour World Rugby
Los Pumas are among the best teams in the World. Argentina is a Spanish-Speaking Country. Chile is a Spanish-Speaking Country as is Uruguay. Two of these three were in the same pool at the World Cup. Who refereed the match? New Zealander Paul Williams. How much effort was made to use Spanish? None. Was he the only New Zealand referee? No. It was a missed opportunity to make rugby less of a sport restricted to the British Commonwealth and; instead, showcase a Rugby WORLD Cup.

Eligibility Laws and Numbers Spiraling Further Out of Control
There were 130 foreign-born players at Rugby World Cup 2015. The number increased to 144 for Rugby World Cup 2019 and again to 163 for Rugby World Cup 2023. It is not because more people migrated but because eligibility laws make it very easy for one union to capture a player who is the product of another. Homegrown numbers at Rugby World Cup 2023 were alarmingly low for number of countries. Italy 61.7%, Scotland 50%. Tonga 29.7% and Samoa 15%. That is to say that while Chile was 100% homegrown, 85% of their opponent’s players representing Samoa are New Zealand and Australian rugby products.

World Cup Without North America
France 2023 was the first-ever Rugby World Cup not not involve at least one North American country. it was the first without Canada and the second without the USA. This meant interest from North Americans was lower than past tournaments. The World Cup itself suffered as no North American country decreases global applicability of the tournament. Not to mention, Canada and the USA have much larger populations than most competitors at the tournament.

English Premiership Crisis
Crisis hit England rugby in 2023. London Irish went bust as did the Wasps and the Worcester Warriors. The outcome meant that Pumas became available on the market. Sanitago Medrano,  Lucio Cinti, Agustín Creevy, Facundo Gigena, Juan Martín González and Ignacio Ruiz were all affected. Second division side Jersey also went bust to leave an even more sour taste. While France has an outstanding domestic product complete with a strong second division, the birth place of rugby is now well behind.

Toronto Arrows and New York Go Bust
Canadian rugby took a hammer blow in November after news that the country’s only professional team, the Toronto Arrows, will not be continuing after five seasons of Major League Rugby. Former champions, New York folded less than two weeks later. All of a sudden, MLR 2024 will be without the only international side and without a former champion.

Arrows and Jackals Fell Short
It was also a miserable season for the Arrows who finished bottom in the Eastern Conference and the Dallas Jackals in the Western. They were the wooden spooners in their respective conferences. Toronto had 1 win, 2 draws and 13 losses. Dallas had 2 wins and 14 losses for the season. These were vastly different to the best sides; San Diego went 15-1 in the regular season while New Zealand were 14-2.

Atlanta Lost to Rebrand
Major League Rugby departed Atlanta in 2023 to return to Los Angeles for MLR 2024. Months after the league announced that the Atlanta franchise would be relocated to the west coast, the new owners group confirmed that the team will be known as Rugby FC Los Angeles. Atlanta, Toronto, New York and Austin all no longer have MLR teams. On the flip side, the Miami Sharks will debut in 2024 and MLR may expand to Mexico in 2025.

Cobras Collect the Wooden Spoon
A 38-34 win by the American Raptors over Os Cobras in São Paulo saw the Brazilian side finishing las in Super Rugby Americas 2023. Os Cobras had been ahead at half-time and had also won the reverse fixture earlier on in the season in Denver, Colorado. Tries to Line Latu and Seimou Smith left Os Cobras shell-shocked in the final quarter. A home loss against the Raptors and the wooden-spoon were not a part of their plans.

Heartbreak for Santiago Grondona
The final warm-up match before the big tournament saw Santiago Grondona seriously injured. The flanker suffered a ruptured Anterior Cruciate Ligament in his left knee and was immediately out of the World Cup. Joaquín Oviedo replaced him. Fellow flanker Pablo Matera was injured during the tournament while Argentina also lost loose head Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro and Santiago Cordero was injured following non-selection.

Shattered Dreams for Franco Lamanna
Franco Lamanna missed out on playing in a third Rugby World Cup. The Uruguayan’s career came early end under unfortunate circumstances. He tested positive for caroxy-THC, a banned substance. He received a three-year-ban in Italy where he was playing professionally for Mogliano. The ban is scheduled to conclude on October 20, 2026 when Lamanna will be aged 35. He tested positive as a result of taking medication to deal with insomnia problems.

Cruel Blow for Nicolás Garafulic
Just two days out from Chile’s historic Rugby World Cup debut the team was hit with devastating news. Winger Nicolás Garafulic was ruled out of the tournament. His place was taken by Cristóbal Game. Nicolás Garafulic was a regular for Chile throughout the Rugby World Cup 2019-2023 cycle. His involvement with Los Cóndores dats back further; he made his debut against Brazil in 2018.