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

Uruguay Crowned Champions at Home Leg of Challenger Series Sevens
Los Teros 7’s were crowned champions in the home leg of the Challenge Series Sevens in Montevideo. Uruguay dominated Hong Kong in the final. The South Americans were 28-0 winners over the top Asian side. Diego Ardao, Bautista Basso, Ignacio Facciolo and Ignacio Alvarez were the try scorers in the final. Uruguay are on target to qualify as two of the four teams for the promotion-relegation tournament in Madrid, Spain.

South American Winner Will Qualify for the 2025 Women’s World Cup
For the first time in history, South America will have a direct spot at a Rugby World Cup. The 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup is guaranteed to have either Brazil or Colombia. The winner will make history; never before has either country appeared at a Men’s or Women’s Rugby World Cup.

Double Argentine Influence in Italian Six Nations win over Scotland
Italy ended an eleven year streak of home defeats in the Six Nations on Saturday. The Gonzalo Quesada coached side defeated Scotland 31-29 in Rome for the first win since the Argentine took on the role. He arrived after a poor showing at the World Cup. Man of the Match against Scotland was Argentine Juan Ignacio Brex.

Las Yaguaretés Continue to Improve
China downed Argentina in the final of the Montevideo leg of the Challenge Series on Sunday. The 38-7 win gives China two wins from two tournaments this season. With 40 competition points, China lead the way with one tournament remaining.

Anthem improve but NOLA take the spoils
NOLA Gold made it two wins from two with a 34-19 win over Anthem Carolina at the Gold Mine on Saturday. While the result was never in doubt, the visitors outscored their hosts in the second half and the home side were left to count the cost with three players injured and another sent off.

Mack the Knife leads Seawolves to success against Sharks
The Seattle Seawolves improved to 2-0 with a confident 29-18 victory over the Miami Sharks in Tukwila on Saturday night. Mack Mason led the way for the home side, the flyhalf guiding his team with an assured performance that included a six-from-six effort off the tee for a personal haul of 17 points.

Legion back on track with win over feisty Jackals
The San Diego Legion picked up their first win of the new season with a 30-23 result over the Dallas Jackals on Sunday. Both sides were intent on playing expansive rugby on a sunny Arlington afternoon, and the crowd were treated to an exciting contest with the two sides combining for seven tries.

Cats flex their muscles in Carson
The Houston SaberCats enjoyed their run-out in Carson as they took a convincing 27-12 win over RFC Los Angeles on Sunday evening. Davy Coetzer played a starring role for the visitors while their forward pack again displayed their power at the set piece to set the platform for success.

Dogos in Command of SRA
Los Dogos are in command of Super Rugby Americas 2024. The teams rom Córdoba, Argentina are firmly placed at the top of the table and are the only unbeaten team. This was underlined with a comeback 18-14 win over Los Pampas in Buenos Aires on Friday.

Nerves of Steel see Peñarol Survive Selknam in Chile
The match lived up to the billing as El Clásico. Only two points separated Selknam and Peñarol on Saturday afternoon. Played at the foot of the Andes, Peñarol needed nerves of steel to survive Selknam. The 25-23 win gives the Uruguayan side back-to-back wins in Super Rugby Americas 2024.

Yacare Buzzing After Record win
Ricardo Le Fort has Yacare buzzing. The Paraguayan side fell to competitive losses against Los Pampas and Los Dogos. In between them was a solid bonus point win against Selknam. The rugby played in all matches was solid and it was even better against Os Cobras on Saturday evening. The 51-7 win saw Yacare on top offensively and defensively. It was an excellent showing from a team who look like Semi Finals material.

Argentines Impress in Top 14
Mateo Carreras was a try scorer on debut for Bayonne. He scored in what was a fantastic rugby match with Pau winning 42-40. Elsewhere in France, Domingo Miotti scored all 15 points for Oyonnax who claimed a key away draw against Clermont. Joaquín Oviedo shined bright for Perpignan who secured an unlikely win over Toulouse. This result eases the pressure and threat of relegation.

 

UNDER

Winless Serpientes in Montevideo 
Mexico opened their tournament on day one against Chile. Las Serpientes were beaten 46-0. A narrow 29-26 loss against Japan followed also on day one. On day two Mexico fell 39-0 to Hong Kong and 44-0 to Japan. Mexico’s last match was a 47-12 loss against Papua New Guinea.

Chile Miss Out on Podium Finish
Chile finished the Montevideo tournament in fourth position. Kenya downed Los Cóndores 7’s 31-12 in the Bronze final. Selknam players Ernesto Tchimino and Luca Strabucchi were Chile’s try scorers. In earlier tournament matches Los Cóndores 7’s defeated both Germany and Japan 12-7, Mexico 46-0 and fell 14-9 against Hong Kong.

Free Jacks win streak comes to an end
Jason Robertson’s conversion with time expired gave Old Glory DC an unlikely 35-34 win over the Free Jacks at Fort Quincy on Saturday afternoon. The visitors overcame a 15-point second half deficit to bring a halt to New England’s 14-game winning streak that dated back to last season.

Hounds flop against defiant Warriors in Utah
The Utah Warriors celebrated their home opener with a 29-15 victory over the Chicago Hounds on Saturday. It was a fierce contest with the result left in the balance until the final quarter, when mistakes from the visitors compounded and helped the Warriors pull away in the final minutes.

Selknam Beaten with Questions Over Legality of Peñarol Maul
Selknam looked to have secured victory following two tries. Clemente Saavedra and replacement Salvador Lues both scored for a 23-20 lead late in the match. However, with the match well past the 80 minute mark, Peñarol called upon nerves of steel to score from a lineout to maul. Myszka scored again as Peñarol celebrated the win. The hooker appeared to be unbound but referee Tomás Bertazza allowed the try to stand.

Cobras Humiliated in Asunción
In a match that Brazilians will not want to remember, an impressive Yacare humiliated Os Cobras in Asunción. The Brazilian ESPN commentators held nothing back as the performance from Os Cobras was poor. The defeat was a record margin against Paraguayan opposition. Os Cobras were genuinely bullied and their offensive performance was diabolical. Unforced errors occurred throughout and the lineout was a shambles.