Up and Under

Up and Under is a weekly exclusive on Americas Rugby News. It covers the best and worst from games involving the Americas players and teams over the previous week.

 

UP

Rugby World Cup 2021
Canada have been drawn alongside the USA in Pool B for Rugby World Cup 2021. The Women’s Eagles finished in 4th place at RWC 2017, one spot higher than Canada, but are currently ranked 6th to Canada’s 3rd. Their most recent Can-Am Series was hosted in San Diego a year ago with the Canadians taking both results. They will be joined by two yet to be determined teams: a European and Asian qualifier. Russia, Spain, and the Netherlands are in contention for the European spot with Hong Kong, Japan, and Kazakhstan in the mix to represent Asia. Dates for the remaining qualifiers are to be confirmed.

Elizabeth Cairns, Megan Foster
A dominant fourth quarter saw the USA Stripes defeat the USA Stars 34-12 in the first of a planned two-match intra-squad series contested by the Women’s Eagles at Infinity Park. Stripes flanker Elizabeth ‘Bitsy’ Cairns was named Player of the Match. Megan Foster scored 19 points for the winning side. Unfortunately the scheduled rematch did not eventuate as seen below…

Panama
Panama has been granted associate member status by World Rugby. Panama is a Sudamérica Rugby member. The same is true of other Central American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Belize and Mexico are members of Rugby Americas North. Panama won the 2018 South American C Championship. Panama did so by defeating El Salvador and Honduras.

Argentina
Los Pumas did not have their best performance, yet the South Americans were not beaten. The 15-all draw in Newcastle marked the first time that Argentina has not conceded a try in Rugby Championship history. There have been similar games in the past; ending with Australia on top. Unlike previous encounters the Wallabies simply did not score tries. Argentina even came within a whisker of a win; Santiago Cordero nearly scoring at the death.

Tri Nations
It is all even in the Tri Nations. Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand are tied on 6 competition points. A lot could happen in the two remaining matches in the competition. Only Argentina will play in both. First up will be Los Pumas vs the All Blacks. Rather than New Zealand going into the game knowing what they need to do, it is a must-win match for them and then hope for the best the next weekend in Australia vs Argentina.

South American Sevens
Chile is to host the 2020 South American Sevens in December. The competition will feature Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile. The two-day tournament will take place on Saturday, December 12 and Sunday, December 13. It will be played at the Estadio Elías Figueroa in Valparaíso. It is to be the third and final competition held during the COVID-ravaged year of 2020.

Utah Warriors
The Warriors confirmed their initial roster for the 2021 Major League Rugby season. Among the 32 players named are six newcomers, most notably Eagles World Cup selects Paul Mullen and Mike Te’o who make the move to Salt Lake City from the San Diego Legion. The arrivals of second row imports Aston Fortuin and Matthew Dalton help make up for the bad news – John Cullen has opted to retire, while Dwayne Polataivao will stay in New Zealand for family reasons. UBC scrumhalf Fraser Hurst makes the move to Salt Lake City as a possible replacement for Polataivao.

Canadians in MLR
While there are still several signing to be unveiled, one thing is for sure – Canada will have a record number of players in MLR next season. To date 21 – plus Canadian-eligible Seattle draft pick Nick Taylor – have put pen-to-paper for teams south of the border. Three wingers signed for MLR rivals this past week. Jeff Hassler‘s move from Seattle to Austin was confirmed, followed by the long-anticipated announcement of DTH van der Merwe to LA. Cole Davis returns to the XV-a-side fold with Austin. Will the Gilgroni or Giltini be Canada’s cocktail of choice?

Ruben de Haas
It was a long wait for his first senior cap for the Cheetahs, and now Ruben de Haas has his first try. The 22-year-old USA scrumhalf pounced on a loose ball in-goal to claim the memorable score late in the game against Griquas on Saturday during the final round of the Super Rugby Unlocked season. Where the Eagles World Cup select goes next remains to be seen. The Cheetahs are currently in limbo. Is there an MLR loan deal on the cards?

AJ MacGinty, Greg Peterson
The new English Premiership started well for USA players AJ MacGinty and Greg Peterson. Both players were involved in winning efforts. MacGinty scored 17 points for the Sale Sharks. His team were 32-23 winners over the Northampton Saints. Peterson started in the second-row for the Newcastle Falcons. The team celebrated their return to the elite level by defeating Bath 19-12. Peterson won 8 lineouts, made 8 tackles and 12 carries.

Mariano Galarza
Bayonne were 35-29 winners over Toulon this past weekend. The win lifts the club up to 9th in the Top 14. Former Puma Galarza started the match and was very busy. The 34-year-old was last capped by Argentina in  November 2018. He has 26 caps for Argentina, including appearances in RWCs 2011 and 2015. Fellow ex-Puma Joaquín Díaz Bonilla was a winner on debut for the Leicester Tigers on Saturday.

Evan Olmstead
The big Canadian lock has enjoyed a strong start to the Pro D2 campaign, and was rewarded with his first try of the season on Friday evening. Powering in from close range after a driving maul fell short, Olmstead inspired Biarritz to a 15-6 win over Charente. It keeps the Basque team in touch of promotion as they trail table-toppers Vannes by only 7 points with 2 games at hand.

 

UNDER

Brazil
Portugal outclassed Brazil today in Lisbon. The Europeans were 30-10 winners over the South Americans. The match was the first of a two match series between the countries. Both teams are using the series with an eye on preparing for RWC 2023 qualifiers. There were few positives for Brazil aside from classy No8 André Arruda. Portugal played much better as a team and the players were sharper. A much improved performance is required for game two this coming Saturday.

Colombia, Paraguay Sevens
Colombia and Paraguay will miss the 2020 South American Sevens. ARN has learned that both will not compete due to travel issues. Their non-involvement is evidently negative for both countries and for the competition itself. Both Colombia and Paraguay also missed out on competing in the South American Championship this year. For this reason, it was rebranded as the South American 4 Nations.

Juan Manuel Cat
Juan Manuel Cat has stepped away from Uruguay’s High Performance program. The 24-year-old has decided to prioritize work over rugby. He has not retired from international rugby and nor has see closed the door on professional rugby. Cat joined Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR) side Peñarol at the start of the year. He had a job offer at the same time. The COVID-19 pandemic changed everything. For Cat it meant he accepted the opportunity. He remains playing rugby, but not training at the Charrúa Center. Instead, he is involved with his club, Old Boys. It is there where he is now focusing on his rugby.

Tomás Cubelli
Argentina were forced into a late change against Australia. On the eve of The test match, Tomás Cubelli was forced out with a knee injury. He watched on from the sidelines in Newcastle. His replacement, Gonzalo Bertranou, put in a strong shift. It is likely that Bertranou will retain the starting No9 jersey against New Zealand this coming Saturday. Cubelli’s place in the match looks unlikely. Felipe Ezcurra is the likely backup to Bertranou.

Juan Imhoff
The unlucky Imhoff departed Saturday’s game in the opening 15 minutes against Australia. This saw an early entrance for Emiliano Boffelli. Imhoff had his hamstring on ice for the duration of play. He was subsequently ruled out of the two remaining Tri Nations matches. The trio of Emiliano Boffelli, Marcos Kremer, and Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro also suffered knows in the match, though all will be fine to play.

COVID-19
Once again the pandemic has reared its ugly head. Fiji have been all but cast out of the Autumn Nations Cup, and on Saturday the coronavirus brought a cruel end to nine weeks of training for the Women’s Eagles. Their scheduled Stars vs Stripes rematch was cancelled after two players returned positive tests after the first match. Here’s hoping brighter days are on the horizon in 2021.