Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
Up and Under is a weekly exclusive on Americas Rugby News. It identifies the tops and the flops from the past seven days of everything involving Americas Rugby.
UP
USA Women claim Silver in Hong Kong
The USA Women’s Eagles won Silver at the Hong Kong Sevens. The North Americans fell to New Zealand in the final. The USA’s tournament showed a strong recovery after falling to Canada in the pool. The USA went on to beat Japan and Spain to book a Quarter Final. The Women’s Eagles were 33-7 winners over Fiji while Canada lost their Quarter Final 26-5 against New Zealand. The Eagles booked their place in the final with a 19-5 win over France.
Utah Warriors Turn it on in the second Half
A big second half performance saw the Utah Warriors take a 44-19 victory over Anthem Carolina on Friday night. It was the visitors who held the lead after 40 minutes but the home side recovered to score 29 unanswered points including four tries in the final quarter to secure the win.
Chicago Hounds maul ill-disciplined Gold in New Orleans
The Hounds scored a resounding 38-21 road win over the Gold on Saturday. While NOLA held the lead until early in the second half, two cards – one of them red – in a span of three minutes killed their momentum and allowed Chicago to dominate the final half-hour of the contest.
LA Fight Back for Draw
RFC Los Angeles fought back from a 12-point second half deficit to earn a 22-all draw against Old Glory DC on Saturday. While it wasn’t quite a victory on paper, the visitors earned a four-try bonus point and did so despite playing half of the game shorthanded with five cards dished out to four LA players.
Free Jacks Shutdown Miami
The New England Free Jacks shut down the Miami Sharks on a drizzly afternoon at Fort Quincy on Saturday, denying the visitors any tries at all with the final score reading 25-3 to the home time. New England won the tactical kicking battle while their defense repeatedly took away time and space from Miami’s attack.
Pampas Go Top on the Road
Los Pampas were 38-20 winners over Os Cobras on Saturday in Jacareí. The bonus point road victory sees the Buenos Aires side sitting very comfortable at the midway stage of Super Rugby Americas 2024. The team is now leading the competition for the first time this season.
Dogos down Champions
History was made on in Montevideo. For the first time, Los Dogos were winners over Peñarol. The win was by three tries to zero. Peñarol’s points were all from penalty kicks at goal. A try to highly promising N8 Efraín Elías and two penalty tries put Los Dogos over the edge.
Selknam Down Raptors in Denver to Climb into Play-Off’s Zone
A 26-07 road win over the American Raptors sees Selknam rising to now be in the top four. Selknam were deserved winners in Colorado, scoring four tries to one. The scrum was a strong asset to the Chileans while their play at the tackle and ruck areas continues to be a hallmark of their play in Super Rugby Americas 2024.
UNDER
Americas Men Fall Short in Hong Kong Sevens
The Americas Men’s teams fell short at the Hong Kong Sevens. The USA, Argentina, and Canada were among the twelve competitors. The trio finished 7th, 9th and 12th respectively. The Eagles were the best while Canada finished last. Canada fell 45-5 against Fiji and 31-0 against France on Day One. The winless campaign also saw a 31-0 loss against Australia. The North Americans faced Great Britain in the battle to avoid last spot; Great Britain were 26-17 winners.
Raptors Discipline Out of Control
In terms of discipline, the American Raptors had a horror show on Sunday. Facundo Pomponio, Devereaux Ferris and Daytwon Sheridan were all yellow carded. They all had 10 minutes on the sidelines. They followed teammate Javon Camp-Villalovos who received an early red card.
Cobras Out of Ideas
A very high 12 changes were made to the Cobras starting line-up. The planning was done in search of playing good rugby at home and winning. Os Cobras fell short as Los Pampas were demonstrably far more skilled at executing opportunities. The Brazilian side saw its defense sliced open and tactical brilliance from Joaquín de la Vega Mendía was impressive.
Peñarol Scrum and Recruitment Decisions
Peñarol’s woeful scrum conceded two penalty tries. The image of a scrum being bullied and forced back quickly and severely was of grave concern to Peñarol. 2023 props Diego Arbelo, Ignacio Péculo and Reinaldo Piussi now play abroad and are badly missed. No Argentines were recruited; it appears to have been a huge mistake.
Champions Peñarol lose to Dogos for the First Time
Peñarol’s Super Rugby Americas 2024 season is hanging on a knife’s edge. After six rounds of action, the defending SRA champions have 2 wins and 4 losses. The fourth defeat came at home on Friday as Peñarol lost to Los Dogos for the first time. The 27-12 defeat combined with Selknam’s win in Colorado means the champions are now outside of the play-off’s zone.
Kotze try record not enough for Dallas against Seattle
Dewald Kotze scored five tries to set a new Major League Rugby single game mark, but it wasn’t quite enough to give Dallas the victory in the end. Instead it was a late penalty goal from Mack Mason that give the Seawolves a narrow 34-32 win at Starfire Stadium on Friday night.
John Poland Out of MLR 2024
John Poland’s season has been prematurely ended due to injury. The Free Jacks scrumhalf damaged a pectoral muscle during the Week 3 match against NOLA and will be sidelined for several months. Cam Nordli-Kelemeti steps into the No9 shirt with Premiership experience, but New England aren’t sitting idly. The club is reportedly eyeing a UK-based but domestic-eligible player to fill Poland’s roster spot.
