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

Brazil Complete Statement Win over Paraguay in Rugby World Cup 2027 Qualifier
Brazil completed a big statement win over Paraguay on Sunday. Os Tupis were in total control against Paraguay in the Rugby World Cup 2027 Qualifier in São Paulo. Brazil won the contest 77-17 with Carlo Mignot scoring a hat-trick.. The win puts Brazil in a very sad position in the triangular series which also includes Chile. Two of the three will advance to join Uruguay and one other side in the final South American round.

USA close out Japan tour with narrow victory
The USA closed out their two-test tour of Japan with an 11-8 victory in Shizuoka on Saturday. It was the second close contest for the Eagles in the span of a week, with the two sides settling for a draw in the first test. Tessa Hann made her test debut for the USA, the fourth new cap on the tour.

Four new names in Canada squad for Pacific Nations Cup
Canada’s 35-man roster sees first-ever opportunities for four players. Scrumhalf Jesse Kilgour and outside back Rhys James, both of Pacific Pride, were part of last month’s training squad but did not play in the tests against Romania or Scotland. This is the first official call-up to the senior squad for loose head prop Sam Miller, also of the Pride, and Vancouver Highlanders lock Kaden Duguid.

Canada Welcome Back Players from Injuries 
Canada’s roster also sees second row trio Josh Larsen, Callum Botchar, and Izzak Kelly all back in the mix. In addition, flyhalf Gradyn Bowd, and midfielder Spencer Jones have both also been selected. Kelly is currently based in Australia while the other four play for Major League Rugby sides.

Uncapped Players also on USA Roster
Scott Lawrence has six uncapped players on his roster for the Pacific Nations Cup. Five of the newcomers ply their trade in Major League Rugby. It’s the first senior Eagles selection for hookers Cyrille Cama (San Diego) and Sean McNulty (Miami), tighthead prop Pono Davis (Houston), second row William Waguespack (NOLA), and outside back Toby Fricker (New England). McNulty previously represented Ireland at u20 level, while Fricker has played for Wales at the Rugby Europe 7s. Cal Golden Bears standout Rand Santos is the sixth newcomer.

Fourcade to Italy
Italian Serie A side recruited an Argentine second-rower from Super Rugby Americas this past week. Eliseo Fourcade was a part of the Pampas team that were beaten finalists in Super Rugby Americas 2024. He also previously played for rivals Los Dogos. Fourcade has representative honors; he played for the Argentina XV against Chile in 2023. He is a product of Pucara in Buenos Aires.

MLR confirms College Draft date and selection order
Major League Rugby confirmed a Wednesday, August 28, broadcast date for the 2024 College Draft. It’s the fifth edition of the off-season event that gives teams a chance to select from a pool of declared collegiate talent based in the USA or Canada. Seven selected players have since achieved full test honors. Draft order was determined by final standing with playoff success taken account. Anthem will pick first after finishing last overall, with the champions New England given the last pick in each round. As in previous years there will be three rounds in the draft, for a total of 36 selections.

 

UNDER

Paraguay Dominated in Rugby World Cup Qualifier
Paraguay’s quest to compete in a first ever Rugby World Cup did not go all on Sunday. The Paraguayans were beaten by a record 77-17 scoreline. Previously the highest points scored by Brazil against Paraguay was 69. Brazil won 66-10 against Paraguay, also in São Paulo, in 2019. The win by a margin of 60 points also establishes a new record for points scored by Brazil against Paraguay. It is looking grim for Paraguay who face Chile away on September 28.

Dark Night for Argentina against New Zealand in Eden Park
One week on from defeating New Zealand in Wellington, Argentina was far from repeating that performance at Auckland’s Eden Park. The New Zealand All Blacks responded with a 42-10 victory, doing so with a dominated first-half performance. Los Pumas had second-half parity but the first half was a demolition.

Win Clouded After Not Backing-up
Los Pumas return to Argentina with one win and won loss against the All Blacks in New Zealand. This is not a negative in of itself; however, given that Argentina played so well in Wellington the showing in Auckland will be studied in great deal so as to prevent another performance. For starters, New Zealand carried for 464 meters compared to 323 by Argentina. The All Blacks defeated 31 defenders compared to 14 by Argentina while the South Americans missed 31 missed tackles.

Bad to Worse for Wallabies
Felipe Contepomi’s Argentina face Australia next. The second stage of the 2024 Rugby Championship set Los Pumas and the Springbok at home to Australia and New Zealand respectively. The Wallabies go from losing twice at home to now playing twice in Argentina. The Australians failed to score a try against a rotated South Africa on Saturday. Despite the decision to rest a lot of players, South Africa still went on to win 30-12.

Eagles Missing in Action 
Bristol flyhalf AJ MacGinty is the most notable of a 21-strong list of injured or unavailable for the USA. Others include Toulouse prop David Ainu’u, North Harbour hooker Shilo Klein, and France-based lock pair Nafi Ma’afu (Biarritz) and Renger van Eerten (Brive). This leave the Eagles try such below full-strength for the Pacific Nations Cup.

Rugby Championship Format
The 2024 rugby Championship has reached the 33.3% mark. The tournament’s format is set-up based on maximizing market potential while tackling geography. It now stops for a week before two rounds with Argentina and South Africa to be playing at home. The competition is three mini tours. For Argentina in 2024 it is a two match tour to New Zealand, two match home series against Australia and home-and-away again South Africa. It is hard to have an ideal format for a tournament of this nature.