Up and Under

Up and Under is usually a weekly segment on Americas Rugby News. It has been on hold since March 16 because of covid-19. Up and Under makes a return today thanks to the large number of off-field activities during the past week.

 

UP

British and Irish Lions Tour of the Americas
World Rugby Chairman candidate Agustín Pichot said he would use the Lions on a more worldwide scale. Every four years, in between RWCs, the British and Irish Lions have toured one of Australia, New Zealand, or South Africa since 1989. This was not always the model, however, as prior to RWC 1987 the tours varied. This saw tours every three years from 1968-1983, all of which were to the above three countries. Prior to that the Lions toured Argentina in 1910, 1927, and 1936.

Opportunity to boom rugby markets outside of RWCs
It is merely a suggestion, though it is one which generates thinking: What if the July and November test windows could become four matches per competitor with each team playing against two Tier 1 and two Tier 2 opponents? This is an inclusive rather than extractive approach, unlike the Nations Championship. It is regular international competition outside of the Rugby World Cup, a means of generating more revenue and encouraging growth, with a Grand Prix final as a possibility. First, this would make the windows match the international competition from the pool stage of RWCs. Second, it would make the matches meaningful by having them be more than friendlies.

Rodrigo Capó Ortega
Covid-19 means that the possibility of seeing Rodrigo Capó Ortega play further professional rugby matches is all but over. The Uruguayan was named by former teammate Romain Teulet in his perfect Castres XV. This saw Capó Ortega preferred to the likes of Lionel Nallet and Pascal Papé. He won the Top 14 title in 2013 and during a remarkable 18 year career at the club.

Andrés Zafra
The first ever Colombian to play in France has demonstrated that he is not in the country for a learning experience. He is in France because he is exceptionally talented. L’Equipe named Colombia’s Agen player in the Top 14 Team of the Season for 2019-2020. In other words, a Colombian was chosen as the best player in his position in an elite level rugby competition.

Santiago Cordero
Joining Zafra in the Team of the Season is Santiago Cordero. The Argentine winger scored six tries for Bordeaux for the season. In being named in the Team of the Season he completed a rare double as last season he was named in the English Premiership Team of the Season while playing for the Exeter Chiefs. Another Pumas winger was in the news in France this past week. Ramiro Moyano has agreed to terms with Toulon for a further two years.

Will Hooley
Also on the signing front is the playing future of an Eagle. USA fly half Will Hooley is soon to be officially unveiled on the Saracens roster. The club is in search of bolstering its playing squad as they drop to England’s second division for the first time in the professional era. The defending European and Premiership champions were relegated to the Championship for repeat breaches of the salary cap.

Stadionul Arcul de Triumf
The venue is not located in the Americas, though it has a place in the heart of many players from the Western Hemisphere. The Stadionul Arcul de Triumf has played host to plenty of test rugby. The likes of Agustín Ormaechea, Moisés Duque, Todd Clever, and Jamie Cudmore have all played at the venue for their countries. The Bucharest venue is presently undergoing an upgrade which will make it an even better venue. It will be the Estadio Charrúa of Eastern Europe.

 

UNDER

World Rugby Chairman Election Voting
The voting for World Rugby Chairman is underway. It started on Sunday and the results will be unveiled on May 12. At the time of writing there is already widespread speculation over who will vote for who and why. This includes suggestions that Wales or Ireland might vote differently to their Six Nations partners. At the moment many of these decisions are kept shrouded in a veil of secrecy. Meanwhile the likes of Asia Rugby, Sudamérica Rugby, Argentina, and Italy have all openly declared their positions. Greater transparency from World Rugby will be a key component of whoever wins moving forward.

RWC 2023 Draw
What a disaster. Teams are most likely to be seeded based on their RWC 2019 rankings. How on earth could this be the case? The answer is that the RWC 2023 organizers have decided that the draw for the pools will go ahead on November 30, 2020. Such a decision defies common sense with few if any international rugby to be played beforehand. Delaying the draw for a year at the least should have been an easy decision to make.

Los Jaguares
ARN can confirm that Argentina’s Super Rugby players have been told that they will not play another match of Super Rugby in 2020. This is the case despite there being efforts within Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to resume playing in some capacity this season. The respective conferences may be able to have some rugby played, while Los Jaguares will miss out.

Super Rugby
The future of Super Rugby itself is unknown. One of the reasons for Los Jaguares to miss any further action in 2020 is flights. Getting to South Africa to compete in that conference is very much up in the air. Yet, similar reasoning means that the 2021 season and beyond loom as uncertain. Air New Zealand has ended its service to Buenos Aires and the future of many airlines is very clouded. Individual professional competitions, involving domestic travel may thrive under the new environment.

Battle for October
While unions across the globe attempt to find formulas for test rugby in 2020, the bosses of the European Champions Cup are active to stop any test rugby from Six Nations unions in October. They say that if rugby is to be played that month, then it should be European club rugby. If efforts to play the Rugby Championship in October are at all successful it would likely leave the Pumas without top European exports such as Pablo Matera, Tomás Lavanini, and Nicolás Sánchez.