Up and Under

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

Uruguay Secures Home Test Match Against Argentina in July 
The wait is over. Uruguay and Argentina will resume international competition at the elite level. Los Teros will have home advantage against Los Pumas in a capped test match. As part of the July 2024 Internationals, the neighboring countries will compete in Maldonado on July 20. The current best two teams from the Western Hemisphere will lock horns for the first fully-capped match in nine years.

Argentina Goes for Modern Stadiums for Rugby Championship
Argentina has gone for modern stadiums for home internationals during the 2024 Rugby Championship. Los Pumas will face Australia in La Plata and Santa Fé and take-on South Africa in Santiago del Estero. Before that Los Pumas will host France in Mendoza and Buenos Aires.

Uruguay name Argentine Rodolfo Ambrosio as new Head Coach
Uruguay have a new Head Coach. After a lengthily search, the URU have name Argentine Rodolfo Ambrosio as the new coach of Los Teros. Ambrosio replaces Esteban Meneses who was in charge of Uruguay from 2016-2023. The 62-year-old is well known in South American Rugby. Ambrosio coached Brazil during the golden age.

Big Second Half Takes San Diego Past NOLA
A dominant second half performance from San Diego secured a come-from-behind 33-20 win over NOLA at Snapdragon Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Legion trailed 17-nil at halftime but found another gear after the break and the Gold could only watch as they left California with nothing to show for it.

Free Jacks end SaberCats unbeaten run in statement win
The Free Jacks underlined their championship credentials with a 47-35 victory over the SaberCats on Saturday night. Wayne van der Bank’s hat trick headlined a seven-try performance against the previously unbeaten Houston side on their home turf, sending a message to the rest of the league that the MLR Shield will not be easily wrestled from New England.

Late try gives Jackals victory over Warriors
A try in the final minute of play gave Dallas their first home win of the 2024 campaign, a 22-20 result over Utah on Friday night. It was a competitive match throughout and it was the Jackals defense that won the day, limiting the Warriors to just two tries with a late stop setting up the exciting finale.

Colombians Join Super Rugby Americas 2024
Colombians have joined Super Rugby Americas 2024. April sees the number of Colombians in the South American league increasing from one to six. These players are spread across three different teams in the competition. Os Cobras, Peñarol and Yacare now all have Colombians on their rosters.

Cobras Complete Historic Double over Champions Peñarol
Brazilian professional rugby celebrated their most significant win in its five year history. Os Cobras were deserved 25-19 winners over Peñarol in Montevideo on Friday. N8 André Arruda, and center Robert Tenório, and Carlo Mignot were try scorers.

Pampas Overcome Yacare in Ferocious Battle in the Rain
With a 22-12 victory, Los Pampas remain on track for a home Semi Final. The Buenos Aires side are tied for top and are ten points clear of third. With a trip to Colorado this week all signals are that Los Pampas will remain very well placed as the run-in to the play-off’s continues.

Francisco Gorrissen Takes Vannes to Peak of Pro D2
Puma Francisco Gorrissen lead Vannes to a comprehensive 42-10 win over Dax on Friday. The flanker scored a first half try and continued his excellent season. It comes on the back of having been named the best player in the league last season. The race to win promotion from the Pro D2 to the Top 14 is on. Vannes are now the French second division leaders.

Santiago Carreras Steers Gloucester into Challenge Cup Semi Final
English Premiership side Gloucester defeated Welsh region the Ospreys on Friday. The match was a European Challenge Cup Quarter Final. The 23-13 victory featured 18 points from Puma Santiago Carreras. The play-maker from Córdoba played at fullback for Gloucester. His 18 points came in the form of six penalties. Carreras kicked 6/7 of his goals.

Tomás Albornoz Stars as Benetton Storm into European Challenge Semi Finals
Tomás Albornoz was Man of the Match for Benetton on Sunday. The Italian side stormed to a 39-14 win over Irish province Connacht. The match was a Quarter Final of the 2023-2024 European Challenge Cup. Albornoz scored two tries in the win. Both were kick and chase scores.

JC Mallía Double as Toulouse March Into Champions Cup Semi Finals
Toulouse booked a Home European Champions Cup Semi Final. Juan Cruz Mallía scored two late tries in the second-half. The Puma also provided a try assist. His strong performance also included 45 running meters with ball in hand.

 

UNDER

Peñarol in Serious Crisis
Os Cobras’ win on Friday came with Peñarol in a serious crisis; the reigning Super Rugby Americas Champions have 2 wins and 5 losses this season. The Uruguayans have lost four in-a-row. Peñarol has a crisis in the front-five. The scrum was again exposed; it was this critical area that favored Os Cobras tremendously. The the lack of a push from the second-row is hurting Peñarol badly.

Yacare Fall As Gap Widens
The 22-12 loss against Los Pampas on Friday means that Yacare are now ten points adrift of Los Pampas and Los Dogos. Catching-up is not a likely scenario; instead, staying in third place is more likely and should also be the team’s motivation. With Peñarol struggling, a new champion is now expected with an all-Argentine final now appearing very probable.

Raptors Torn Apart in Colorado
The American Raptors conceded eleven tries at home in Colorado. Los Dogos were on top throughout the contest. It was a dominant display which could have been more than Julián Hernández had more accuracy with his goal-kicking. Next up for the Raptors is the Buenos Aires challenge of Los Pampas. A major improvement is needed in order for a positive result for the Coloradans.

LA Hammered at Home
Seattle had little difficulty on their road trip south to Los Angeles on Sunday, cruising to a 36-5 result over their hosts. Rain fell through out which saw both teams relying heavily on tactical kicking, but when the Seawolves did choose to run they found enough success to leave California with a bonus point win.

Misery Continues doe Anthem
Anthem’s forwards were no match for an overwhelming Chicago pack as the Hounds romped to a 59-26 victory on Sunday. Dylan Fawsitt and Jason Higgins each recorded hat tricks for the visitors, who set new franchise marks for tries and points scored on the back of their dominant set piece.