Up and Under

Up and Under is a weekly exclusive on Americas Rugby News. It takes a dive into the best and worst involving Americas Rugby from the past week.

 

UP

Argentina Conquer Madrid
Los Pumas were convincing winners of Los Leones in Madrid on Saturday. The match was Argentina’s final match before taking to the field for their opening match of the World Cup in France. Argentina conquered Madrid 62-3.

Brazil March to Four Nations Glory
An impressive performance from Brazil saw Os Tupis winning the 2023 South American Four Nations title. Brazil defeated tournament hosts 41-22 in the final fixture of the competition on Sunday evening in Asunción. The win means that Brazil will rise two places in the World Rankings.

Uruguay Announce Competitive Roster for World Cup
Uruguay’s 33-man roster for Rugby World Cup has been confirmed. Los Teros will take a roster containing eighteen forwards and fifteen backs. Andrés Vilaseca leads an entirely homegrown roster. All thirty-three players were raised in Uruguay. They are products of the national system. The difference between RWCs 2015 and 2019 is the 2023 roster is entirely professional.

Argentina XV Claim Another World Cup Scalp
Following on from beating Namibia, the Argentina XV made it a double over Chile. The Argentina XV defeated Chile in Antofagasta earlier in the month and on Saturday did so in Temuco. Chile showed heart and courage and just fell short, losing 28-26 at the final whistle.

Chile XV End South American Four Nations on a High
The Chile XV ended the 2023 South American Four Nations with a win. The Chilean next-of-XV got the win against Colombia in Asunción, Paraguay on Sunday. The Chileans were 57-19 winners in a performance wherein they scored nine tries while conceding three.

Chile Finalize World Cup Roster
Chile has confirmed the final three players for the country’s first-ever Rugby World Cup. The three inclusions are scrum-half Nicolás Herreros, back-rower Thomas Orchard and loose head prop Vittorio Lastra. The trio have all played Super Rugby Americas for Selknam. Herreros has prior experience playing professional rugby in Spain.

Super Rugby Americas Players at Rugby World Cup 2023
Rugby World Cup 2023 will feature players from Super Rugby Americas 2023. The South American professional league proved to be a critical component in seeing a record three South American countries secure places at a Rugby World Cup for the first time. Rosters from all three South American participants at this year’s Rugby World Cup played in Super Rugby Americas 2023 or in prior editions of the tournament when it was played as the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR).

Miami Sharks Go Uruguayan
The Miami Sharks have now confirmed their incoming Teros. Joining the expansion side after the World Cup will be openside flanker Manuel Ardao, flyhalf or fullback Felipe Etcheverry, and outside center Tomás Inciarte. Ardao and Etcheverry are among Uruguay’s best players, the latter named Super Rugby Americas Player of the Year in 2023. Inciarte is an experienced international who has also played test rugby at scrumhalf.

 

UNDER

Double Red and Wooden Spoon for Colombia
Colombia lost all three of their matches in the South American 4 Nations. Two red cards hurt them badly and simply must not happen in such matches. The winless Colombians are in the position of requiring High Performance investments as Paraguay have overtaken them and left them behind to now be Brazil’s level.

Leading Pumas Prop Ruled Out
Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro is out of the World Cup. The most capped Pumas prop in history was ruled out of Rugby World Cup 2023 on Tuesday. He suffered a rupture of the Achilles tendon in his left leg. His spot on the roster will be taken by either Mayco Vivas or Lucio Sordoni. Both were replacements against Spain on Saturday.

Santiago Grondona also Out of the World Cup
Flanker Santiago Grondona is out of the World Cup. Grondona was injured playing for Los Pumas against Spain. The medic report from the incident confirmed the severity of the injury. Grondona suffered a ruptured Anterior Cruciate Ligament in his left knee. Such an injury requires six months recovery time and can take longer.

Doug Fraser Calls it a Day
Canadian international Doug Fraser has announced his retirement from rugby. The 31-year-old center spent the past four seasons in Major League Rugby, the first with Austin Elite and the last three with Old Glory DC. He also won four test caps for Canada between 2018 and 2019.

Eamonn Matthews also Makes the Decision
Another who has confirmed retirement is Ironworkers scrumhalf Eamonn Matthews. The former USA u20 select has called it quits at the age of 26, after appearing in five games this past season. He had previously spent three seasons with ATL before making the move north to New York.

Mike Sheppard joins the retirement list
Toronto Arrows stalwart Mike Sheppard has announced his retirement from rugby. The 34-year-old lock steps away after five years of Major League Rugby that included a team-leading 59 appearances, 15 of them as captain. At international level he won 11 test caps for Canada between 2018 and the 2019 World Cup.

World Rugby No Habla Español
World Rugby confirmed the match officials for the Rugby World Cup 2023 pool matches. The Americas will have no referee, assistant referee or TMO at Rugby World Cup 2023. The last match officiated by an Americas referee was at Rugby World Cup 2003 in Australia. Rugby World Cup 2023 will see two South American teams facing-off for the first time in tournament history. World Rugby has not appointed a Spanish-Speaking referee for that match.

Luck of the Irish for Santiago Cordero
Santiago Cordero also suffered a severe blow. The Argentine winger was injured in training last week in Ireland. He suffered a knee injury at his new club of Connacht. The injury will see Cordero sidelined for a prolonged period. Connacht Rugby will confirm the extent of the injury in due course.

Rugby ATL Los Angeles who?
LA take 2 doesn’t even have a team name yet, or colors, or even publicly-revealed owners. They do have a star player on their books however. Rugby ATL vice-captain Johan Momsen, one of the league’s premier second rows, has confirmed he will make the move from coast-to-coast. The last time Momsen played in LA would have been the 2021 Championship Final, won by the Giltinis at Memorial Coliseum.