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

Wellington Fells the Effects of Argentina Statement win over New Zealand
Pablo Matera captained Felipe Contepomi’s Pumas to a 38-30 victory in Wellington on Saturday. Argentina’s statement win over New Zealand will be felt for a long time to come. It was the third ever win by the South Americans against the three-time world champions and saw the South Americans putting a record 38 points on the board against the All Blacks in New Zealand.

Super Rugby Americas Players Defeat the All Blacks in New Zealand
Argentina’s win over New Zealand was celebrated well beyond the borders of the República Argentina. The win carried meaning to Super Rugby Americas. Two Dogos players featured in Los Pumas’ win over the All Blacks in the New Zealand capital. Franco Molina was a try scorer while Efraín Elías made his test debut in the victory. In shirt, the SRA to Pumas pathway is working.

Full-Strength Brazil Ready for Paraguay
Brazil will play host to Paraguay in São Paulo on August 18. Head Coach Emiliano Caffera has confirmed a 36-man roster for the Rugby World Cup 2027 Qualifier. Caffera’s roster has 30 Cobras including Carlo Mignot who debuted in July. Four players are based abroad: Wilton Rebolo, Leonel Moreno, Moisés Duque and Matheus Rocha.

Canada Await Japanese Youth and Experience
Japanese Head Coach Eddie Jones has gone for 19 forwards and 16 backs for his roster to take to Canada. Among the debutants are university students Yamato Murata, Kohaku Ebisawa, and Yoshitaka Yazaki. The Brave Blossoms defeated the Maori All Blacks but lost against England, Georgia and Gonzalo Quesada’s Italy in July.

Santiago Government Approves High Performance Rugby Center Investment
New investments are coming to Chile. The Santiago government has green-lighted an investment of $1457 million Chilean pesos (US$1.5 million) for further advancements of the High Performance Rugby Center in the Chilean capital. The new investments will be used for the maintenance and improvements of the stands, as well as the modernization of the lighting at the Chilean national team’s training ground in Mahuida Park.

 

UNDER

USA draws with Japan in first tour match
A late penalty goal salvaged a 17-17 draw for the USA against Japan in Kitakyushu on Sunday. The home side outscored their guests three tries to two but the boot of McKenzie Hawkins saved the Eagles from defeat in the first match of the USA’s two-test tour.

World Rugby makes change to International eligibility regulation
World Rugby has made another change to its regulations regarding international eligibility. Gone is the five-year consecutive residency regulation, which has instead been replaced by five-year ‘registration’. Spanish fans may feel further aggrieved by the change. The Leones were effectively disqualified from participation at the 2023 World Cup after it was ruled that South African front-rower Gavin van den Berg had played for the country during qualifier matches after breaking the previous consecutive residency regulation.

Lautaro Bazán Vélez Watches On
He won’t be complaining but Lautaro Bazán Vélez was on the match sheet but unused as a replacement. The scrum-half from Córdoba miss out on getting game time in Argentina’s 38-30 win over New Zealand in Wellington. This means he is not credited with a cap from the match. The same was true for Tomás Albornoz in 2022. He came on in the second-half in the 2022 win in Christchurch.

Paraguay Lose Warm-Up match before RWC Qualifiers
Paraguay fell to a o 43-33 loss on Saturday. They did so against NOA – NorOeste Argentino, North West Argentina. Former Puma Ramiro Moyano played fullback for NOA. Following loses in July against Hong Kong and Belgium, Paraguay are not in a good spot heading into their matches against Brazil and Chile. Brazil host Paraguay on August 18.

Mike Friday steps down as Men’s Eagles 7s coach
After a decade at the helm of the USA Men’s Eagles 7s program, Mike Friday has stepped away as Head Coach. The 52-year-old from England confirmed his decision this past Thursday, just shy of two weeks after his final tournament in charge at the Olympic Games in Paris.

From Top 14 to Pro D2
Facundo Gigena has joined Nice from Pau. This sees a drop from the Top 14 to a lower division. Three years ago he stated four test matches for Argentina. The likelihood of a test comeback is now not strong. This is so despite age being on his side; Gigena is still just 29 years of age.