Up and Under

Up and Under is an Americas Rugby News exclusive. It identifies the best and the tops and the flops involving the Americas during the course of the past seven days.

 

UP

Pumas celebrate another Vancouver Men’s Sevens title
Argentina are Vancouver Sevens Men’s Champions for a third straight year. A runaway win over New Zealand in the Cup Final secured result, which was also their third straight title on this year’s circuit. Los Pumas are now more than 20 points clear of the field on the overall standings. Matías Osadzcuk played a starring role, scoring five tries in the final two matches.

Canada Women celebrate best Sevens Series result in years
New Zealand were once again tops among the women’s teams in Vancouver, but Canada had reason to celebrate at home. The Maple Leafs took home Bronze, their best result of the season and first podium finish since the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 circuit. Canada’s progress bumps them up to 5th overall on the standings. The Women’s Eagles settled for 5th place after falling to Canada in the quarters.

Pampas Power On Against Woeful Raptors
Los Pampas made light work out of the American Raptors. The Buenos Aires side were 52-17 winners. They had the bonus point sealed well before half-time. In fact, Bernabé López Fleming, Justo Piccardo, and Santiago Pernas all scored tries in the opening quarter.

Dogos Overcome Rain, Thunder and Lightning
Los Dogos are now 2-0 in Super Rugby Americas 2024. The Córdoba side thus join Los Pampas as the undefeated teams so far this season. The Córdoba side traveled to Jacareí, Brazil to come away with a 29-6 bonus point win on Saturday.

Smart Play Sees Yacare Winning the War 
Yacare were winners by four tries to two against Selknam. The 34-20 victory was from a half-time deficit and the Paraguayan side kept the Chileans scoreless in the second-half. The play-making from the Argentine pair of Joaquín Lamas and Juan Manuel Molinuevo was a strong point of Yacare’s performance. Molinuevo scored two tries in the match.

Two Eyeing World Cup 2027 Places Book November Battle
Spain will play host to the Eagles in November, one year after the two sides clashed in La Vila. New Leones coach Pablo Bouza confirmed on Radio Marca Valladolid that his team will take on Fiji, Samoa, and the USA on their end-of-year test schedule. The Eagles were decisive winners at the La Vila Cup this past November, claiming a 42-12 victory late last year.

Stadiums of Major League Rugby 2024
New homes in Chicago and Miami were the talk of 2023, and the seventh season of Major League Rugby will welcome four new venues. Two of those are for entirely new teams, one team has crossed a river, and another has moved to the opposite coast entirely.

North American duo headed to Super Rugby
A pair of North American international front rowers are headed south to the Super Rugby Women’s competition. Canadian hooker Sarah Cline and Eagles prop Charli Jacoby have been signed by the Western Force and Queensland Reds respectively. The Australia-based tournament kicks off on March 15.

Francisco Gorrissen Leads Vannes to top of the Pro D2
Vannes were 45-17 winners of Béziers on Thursday. The winners were captained by former Puma Francisco Gorrissen. His form throughout the season means that he certainly merits consideration for a Pumas recall in 2024. Gorrissen’s club are now top of the Pro D2. The club are on track to compete for promotion to the Top 14.

Damián Schneider Got the Job
Argentine referee Damián Schneider took charge of Vannes vs Béziers. He refereed the match in English. The appointment was notable due to it being the match of the round for a place at the top of the table. During Bill Beaumont’s years in charge of World Rugby no Americas referee has officiated a fixture between two Tier 1 matches. No Americas official has referred at the past five Rugby World Cups.

 

UNDER

Last place for Canadian Men in Vancouver
While the Women can enjoy their success and are trending in the right direction ahead of the Olympics, the Men are not doing so well. Qualification rests on success at the final repechage tournament in Monaco this coming June and only victory will do. With three last-place finishes in four circuit stops thus far this season, there is a proverbial mountain to climb in finding the confidence to reach Paris.

Second Consecutive Big Road Defeat for American Raptors
The American Raptors were never able to recover following Los Pampas’ strong start. Their assignment was not helped by injuries. Mikey Grandy was replaced by Will Crawford in just the 17th minute. John LeFevre also replaced Patrick Madden long before half-time. The 52-17 result means 0-2 thus far in Super Rugby Americas 2024 for the American Raptors

Cobras Miss Out on Points At Home
Os Cobras were unable to repeat their opening round win. Having defeated champions Peñarol there was confidence going into the match against Los Dogos. The stoppage due to lightning harmed the Brazilian side though it was the Dogos forwards ability to tire out Os Cobras which caused the most damage.

Selknam Collapse after Strong Start Against Yacare
It was the first competitive match for the Chileans since the World Cup. It was not a match they will wish to repeat. Selknam started well but blew their 20-14 half-them lead and were scoreless in the second-half. Adventurous play instead of playing the percentages worked against the Chileans. They could have built a lead and expanded upon it.

Jorge Raúl Sanz Passes Away
Jorge Raúl Sanz passed away this past week at the age of 74. Sanz was a Puma, a Pumas Coach and was in charge of Argentina’s representative teams. He earned seven test caps from 1973-1977, debuting against Paraguay. Sanz played his rugby in the amateur era for Regatas de Bella Vista CRC in Buenos Aires.