Up and Under

Up and Under is a weekly feature on Americas Rugby News which reviews the best and worst from games involving the Americas teams over the previous week.

UP

Guatemala
Guatemala got their South American Championship C title defense off to a strong start on Sunday. Los Jaguares downed newcomers Nicaragua 57-19. Guatemala played very well but Nicaragua made a solid debut performance in the competition. Both teams are to return to action on Wednesday. Guatemala will be up against Panama while Nicaragua will face their southern neighbors, Costa Rica. The tournament is structured with the expectation that Guatemala and Costa Rica’s match on Saturday September 02 will determine the 2017 champions.

Costa Rica
The host nation of the 2017 South American C Championship, Costa Rica ran riot against Panama on Sunday. Costa Rica opened the tournament with a comprehensive 91-5 win at Liceo Franco Costarricense in Concepción de Tres Ríos. The result sends a warning to the two-time reigning champions, Guatemala. Los Jaguares are looking to win their their straight title but may find the going tough as Costa Rica have demonstrated improvement.

Pumas in Top 14
The French Top 14 got underway this past weekend. Canada, Uruguay and the USA all had players involved. The real story, though, was that there were 12 Pumas playing and none of them can be selected by Daniel Hourcade. Argentina’s policy of blocking selection to foreign-based players has not only been exposed by results since Rugby World Cup 2015 but also by the performances from those who remain abroad. Facundo Bosch scored in his Top 14 debut on Saturday, Juan Imhoff added another try to his Racing 92 resume, Patricio Fernández and Benjamín Urdapilleta kicked goals for Clermont and Castres while Facundo Isa was named in the Team of the Week by Midi Olympique.

Emiliano Boffelli
The philosophy behind Argentina’s selection policy is simple. It is player control. All fit players can play at all times for Los Pumas and also for Los Jaguares. But with only one Super Rugby team though on the fringes simply take offers to leave. Facundo Bosch, Eduardo Bello, and Segundo Tuculet are cases in point of players unable to break into Los Jaguares who got offers from Europe and took them. But there are also instances of players to have developed very well. Emiliano Boffelli is an instance of a highly promising player under contract with the UAR. He kicked two penalties from inside his own half for Argentina on Saturday. He scored tries in his three previous test matches.

Jeff Hassler
Another Americas flier did well this weekend. Canadian Jeff Hassler scored in his return from injury for the Ospreys. It ended 10 long months in which Hassler had been on the sidelines recovering from an Achilles injury. Capped 17 times by Canada, Hassler is yet to earn a cap since the 2015 World Cup. A return to form and fitness for Ospreys will be first and foremost on his mind as he enters the last year of his current deal with the club he joined in 2013. It would be a major boost to the Canadian side were he to be available for the November tests and the all-important World Cup Qualifying series against Uruguay in January.

Canada and USA Women’s Teams
The Women’s Rugby World Cup was a tremendous success. Played in Ireland, the competition certainly helped the candidacy of Ireland 2023. It underlined the country’s interest in the women’s game which gave World Rugby the desired result of helping promote the tournament and sport itself. Both the USA and Canada were vital components of this. The North Americans finished 4th and 5th respectively, results that are out of reach of the men’s sides from the region. From a global standpoint the North Americans genuinely helped boost the profile of the tournament. They ensured a similar competitiveness to what Argentina have meant to Men’s Rugby World Cups.

Ontario Arrows
Is professional rugby union finally coming to Canada? A brief press release on Friday afternoon announced the arrival of the Ontario Arrows Rugby Club, a privately-funded ‘elite’ rugby team built on the foundations of the highly successful Ontario Blues program that looks set for a big year in 2018, with a possible spot in Major League Rugby in 2019 should the new competition deliver in its inaugural year. Fans will get their first official glimpse of the new team on September 9 when the Arrows take on the Glendale Merlins at Infinity Park in Colorado.

UNDER

Panama
Losing 91-5 was a disastrous start for Panama. Los Diablos were outmatched by a much better team. The short turn-around in the South American C Championship means Panama will be pushed to the limit. On Wednesday Panama take-on Guatemala, the favorites to win the competition. The Panamanians are to be faced with a tough decision of fielding replacements against Guatemala to harm fresh legs for Saturday’s match against Nicaragua.

Argentina
History was made in Salta on Saturday as Argentina lost 41-23 against South Africa. It was the largest home loss against the Springboks since joining the Rugby Championship in 2012. The South Americans were outscored by five tries to two and were simply not up to the standards of their opponents. The defeat was Argentina’s fourth from five matches in 2017. More importantly it was the 11th straight loss against Tier 1 opposition. The team is in a dark place right now and away games against New Zealand and Australia are to be the next assignment.

Tomás Lavanini
A yellow card vs Australia in the Rugby World Cup 2015 Semi Final. A one-match ban in 2014 for clearing out without using his arms. A yellow card for the same offense against South Africa in 2015. These two instances of foul play were committed by a very young player. Age, however, can no longer be used as an excuse when he was red carded for the same offense in Super Rugby in 2016. Earlier in the campaign he was suspended for making contact with an opponents head. In his first test of 2017 he was yellow carded for foul play, and on Saturday he was sent off for receiving his second yellow with 26 minutes to play. Lavanini has the potential to be a genuinely world class lock but his reckless behavior is instead making him a liability.

Daniel Hourcade and UAR Player Selection
The loss of Lavanini occurred with South Africa leading 24-13. The Springboks were awarded a penalty try from Lavanini’s infringement. The teams would go on to score one further try each. In other words claims that Argentina’s discipline cost them the win are unconvincing. What really is going on? Put differently how many of the players are playing at the required standard to win Rugby Championship matches? Would Juan Figallo, Juan Imhoff, Patricio Fernández, and Facundo Isa be playing if available? Yes they all would.