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

Record Rugby Attendance in Chile 
Los Cóndores played at the Estadio Nacional for the first time. The public responded as a Chilean record rugby attendance was set at 24,878. The crowd roared when Diego Escobar scored for Chile in the second-half. The replacement hooker’s try was Chile’s only score. Scotland scored eight tries with five coming in the second half.

Argentina Storm to Biggest ever Win over Uruguay
Argentina completed their biggest ever win over Uruguay on Saturday. Los Pumas were 79-5 winners over Los Teros at Punta del Este. Argentina were so dominant that they had 75% territory and 73% possession in the first-half. They finished with 1149 running meter compared to 210 for Uruguay. Ignacio Mendy impressed with a hat-trick. Debutant Joaquín Moro scored twice.

Sensational Jackals knock out top-seeded SaberCats
The Dallas Jackals celebrated a famous victory in their first ever playoff match and now move on to the Western Conference Final. The 34-22 upset win left the crowd in Houston silenced. It marked the first ver Dallas Jackals win over the Houston SaberCats.

Free Jacks survive stern challenge from Old Glory in Quincy
New England moved on to the second round of the playoffs after a nerve-wracking 33-29 victory over Old Glory DC on Saturday afternoon. The Fort Quincy faithful were treated to a full-on contest with both sides giving their best. In the end it was the experience and line speed of the defending champions that saw the Free Jacks through to the Eastern Conference Final.

Argentina down Australia at World Rugby u20 Championship
Los Pumitas had a strong World Rugby u20 Championship and a strong 2024 overall. This past week saw Argentina beating Australia for a second time this year at u20 level. Argentina won in Australia during the Rugby Championship u20 and won again in a match dominated by rain. The impressive display saw Los Pumitas not conceding a try against the Junior Wallabies in the 5th Place Final on Friday at Cape Town, South Africa.

Pablo Bouza’s Spain Complete Historic Away Win Over Tonga
History was made in Nuku’alofa, Tonga on Friday. Spain completed an historic win over Tonga and did so on the road. It was against a team containing former Rugby World Cup All Blacks and Wallabies. The 29-20 victory ranks among Spain’s greatest ever accomplishments on a rugby field. Coached by former Puma Pablo Bouza, Los Leones have an ambition: Rugby World Cup 2027. Defeating Tonga demonstrates that it is attainable.

Gonzalo Quesada’s Italy knock Over Japan
Italy’s July tour concludedwith a convincing 42-14 win over Japan. It follows a comfortable win over Tonga in Nuku’alofa and a narrow loss against Samoa in Apia. The return is positive for Gonzalo Quesada’s Italy who also defeated Scotland and Wales in the 2024 Six Nations. Italy’s win in Japan was emphatic. The European side had the better of play and went effortlessly about their work.

Gonzalo Bareiro Completes 50 Caps for Paraguay
Thirteen years after debuting for Paraguay, Gonzalo Bareiro reached the mark of 50 test caps. His 50th cap was against Belgium on Saturday. The time involved shows how hard it is to earn 50 caps for Los Yacarés. All Black Beauden Barret has 126 caps. He debuted in 2012.

Diego Arbelo and Germán Kessler to play together in France
Uruguayan prop Diego Arbelo has signed for Rouen from Colorno. The move from Italy to France sees the front-rower joining shortly after hooker Germán Kessler also signed for Rouen Normandie. Arbelo, like Kessler, joins the Nationale club on a two year deal from 2024-2026. Arbelo makes the move from Italian club Colorno.

 

UNDER

Brazil Beaten at the Death by Hong Kong after Grave Error
Brazil were beaten at the death by Hong Kong on Saturday. A grave error from the home team in the last minute proved to be a killer blow. Brazil had the win wrapped up only to take the ball back inside their own 22 and kick it out. Hong Kong scored from there and landed the conversion for a 26-25 win.

Uruguay Torn Apart in Unacceptable Performance against Argentina
It was an unacceptable performant by Rodolfo Ambrosio’s Uruguay; Los Teros were a shadow of the team that had been competitive ten days earlier against France. Uruguay won over many neutrals at Rugby World Cup 2023. Los Teros were competitive in three of their four matches. The heavy loss was against New Zealand while was surpassed by Argentina’s record-breaking win on Saturday.

Paraguay Show Great Improvement in Loss to Belgium
Paraguay showed great improvement against Belgium on Saturday. A week on from the disaster against Hong Kong in Asunción, Los Yacarés put on a far more competitive match. However, the Diables Noirs / Zwarte Duivells (Black Devils) were 45-20 winners on Saturday evening.

Wrong Time for Houston to Lose to Dallas for the first time
The top team from the regular season will play no further part in the Major League Rugby playoffs. Having never beaten the SaberCats previously, the Dallas Jackals pulled off a remarkable 34-22 upset to leave the Houston crowd stunned in silence on Saturday night.

NOLA Gold Eliminated at home
A dominant second half showing from Chicago saw the Hounds past NOLA Gold by a final score of 45-21 at The Gold Mine on Sunday. Both teams were competing in their first ever playoff match but it was the visitors who tempered the excitement of the occasion while the home side ran short on energy and ideas.

End of an Era sees Legion out with Seawolves Advancing
The Seattle Seawolves are headed back to the Western Conference Final after a 30-28 victory over the San Diego Legion at Starfire Stadium on Sunday. Two late scores made the result more respectable for the visitors after the home side pulled away in the final quarter to secure their bounty.

Manuel Alfaro Becomes the Latest Argentine to Play for Spain
Manuel Alfaro debuted for Spain on Friday. Alfaro started for Spain in Los Leones’ away test match against Tonga in Nuku’alofa. Head Coach Pablo Bouza, who is a former Puma, is using the tour to experiment some of his starting line-up. This includes Alfaro, traditionally a center, starting on the wing. Fellow Argentine Bernardo Vázquez debuted against Samoa.

USA u20’s Underperform and Miss Out on Championship Spot
Scotland reclaimed their spot in the World Rugby u20 Championship. The home favorites won promotion to the top division after outclassing the USA 48-10 in the u20 Trophy Final played in Edinburgh on Wednesday evening. Despite the tough defeat it’s the best result for the Americans at the second-tier tournament in over a decade.

Bad Ending for Uruguay at World Rugby U20 Trophy
Los Teritos were torn apart by Japan in Edinburgh on Wednesday. The 73-22 defeat was a far cry from the performances in the same tournament a year ago. Uruguay were beaten finalists in 2023. Japan’s dominant display means the Asian’s finish the tournament in third position and the South Americans in fourth. Japan were related from the World Rugby u20 championship in 2023 and demonstrated that the team ought to be in the superior tournament which only has 12 teams.

Julián Montoya On the Sidelines
Argentina were without captain Julián Montoya against Uruguay on Saturday. Montoya suffered a rib injury in the win over France in Buenos Aires. He was replaced very early by Ignacio Ruiz. The Perpignan hooker played three-quarters of that match and then started against Uruguay. Montoya is in a race against time to recover before the two match tour of New Zealand.

Uruguay vs Argentina with Away and Away Kits
Uruguay’s traditional colors are sky-blue; Argentina’s are sky-blue and white. In what was bizarre, neither team took to the field in Punta del Este in these colors. Uruguay played in yellow while Argentina played in a color which was almost black.