The first of three weekends has concluded for Americas teams competing in the annual November Internationals. Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Uruguay and the USA all competed. Certain players stood out for their countries. The very best from the fixtures have been selected for the ARN Americas Team of the Week.
NOVEMBER WEEK 1 RECAP |
10-23 (Hong Kong, HK)
44-14 (Bucharest, RO)
33-24 (Madrid, ES)
17-21 (Coimbra, PT)
18-50 (Udine, IT)
HONORABLE MENTIONS |
There were solid performances from players across all positions. In some cases there were notable performers who missed out on despite having played very well. Some names who missed the cut but deserve honorable mentions are Julián Montoya (Argentina), Juan Cruz Mallía (Argentina), Baltazar Amaya (Uruguay), Lucas Bianchi (Uruguay), Paddy Ryan (USA), Ruben du Haas (USA), AJ MacGinty (USA) Nicolás Garafulic (Chile), and Inaki Ayarza (Chile).
The goal-kicking of Lucas Tranquez was critical to Brazil’s historic win over Hong Kong. His 18 points and overall game see him narrowly ahead of Juan Cruz Mallía at fullback. Mallía’s numbers were impressive; He made 144 meters and was a try scorer; however, Tranquez saw his team to a historic first win over the tema ranked Asia no 2.
AJ MacGinty had an excellent match for the USA Eagles. He played a key role in the redemption against Portugal; however, the performance of Tomás Albornoz in Udine was at another level.
Felipe Aliaga continued to show his development. The Uruguayan lineout had concerns against Spain, though Aliaga was a busy player around the park and was rewarded with a try. He and teammate Guillermo Pujadas have both been selected from beaten teams.
ARN – AMERICAS TEAM OF THE WEEK – NOVEMBER 2024 WEEK 1 |
1 Thomas Gallo
2 Guillermo Pujadas
3 Joel Sclavi
4 Felipe Aliaga
5 Pedro Rubiolo
6 Juan Martín Gonzalez
7 Raimundo Martinez
8 Joaquín Oviedo
9 Benjamín Videla
10 Tomás Albornoz
11 Bautista Delguy
12 Santiago Videla
13 Lucio Cinti
14 Conner Mooneyham
15 Lucas Tranquez