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

Los Pumas Sevens
Argentina were round champions of this weekend’s Madrid Sevens. Los Pumas 7’s went undefeated in the two day tournament. Rodrigo Etchart and Lucio Cinti were try scorers for Argentina in the 21-14 final win over Kenya. The USA finished third in both the Men’s and Women’s tournaments. The Men’s Eagles were 24-17 winners over Spain in the Bronze Final. The Women’s Eagles defied Poland 47-7 to win Bronze.

Cafeteros Pro
20 Colombians have been named on Los Cafeteros Pro roster for the 2021 Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR) season. The team’s 30-man-roster contains 20 Colombians and 10 Argentines. The 20 Colombian players are from two departments. There are 17 Antioqueños, Oscar Forero from Bogotá, and Juan David Herrera de Risaralda and Julián Velandia from Bucaramanga.

New England Free Jacks
It was a busy seven days for the New England Free Jacks. The Major League Rugby team added three names to their 2021 player roster. Local favorite Danny Collins extended his stay with the team, and there were two prominent newcomers – second row Matt Wirken arrives from RUNY with USA international Vili Toluta’u making the move from the Seawolves.

Gabby Cantorna
USA international Gabby Cantorna was named Player of the Month by Exeter Chiefs for the month of January. The team won both of their games including a notable upset win over Saracens, who had not tasted defeat since October 2018. Cantorna has been a fixture in the Exeter lineup since arriving before the season. Against Bristol she kicked six points that would prove vital in the four-point win. She tallied seven points in the eight-point result over Saracens.

Pumas on fire abroad
In a notable weekend, many Pumas put up their hands for ARN Player of the Week consideration. Scrum half Tomás Cubelli scored on debut for the Western Force. Center Juan Cruz Mallía fit in well on his debut for Toulouse. Rodrigo Bruni touched down for his first try for Vannes. Fellow No8 Facundo Isa scored a double for Toulon. Hooker Julián Montoya scored for the Leicester Tigers. Center Matías Moroni puts in a try saving tackle in the same match. Emiliano Boffelli scored a match-winner for Racing 92.

 

UNDER

Rugby World Cup Hosting Process
The Rugby World Cup hosting process is broken; new candidates are reluctant to bid. Try as World Rugby might to encourage new bids there is not a line of fresh candidates to host their flagship tournament. The evidence paints a telling image, one of RWCs returning to prior countries as fresh bids fail to get off the ground or miss out to prior hosts. World Rugby needs to implement a rule of a 20-year wait between RWC matches in host nations. In addition, World Rugby ought to work directly with prior unsuccessful bidders to see their interest and capabilities. Until this happens there is no end in sight of recycling RWC hosts.

Perry Baker
Perry Baker suffered a serious leg injury on Sunday while playing for the Eagles against Kenya on day two of the Madrid Sevens. It’s a terrible blow for both Baker and the Eagles. USA Rugby has now confirmed that Baker will make an immediate return home with surgery likely. Star playmaker Folau Niua suffered a badly broken leg in a similar fashion in June 2019 and has yet to return to the pitch. Both players face a race against time to be fit for the Tokyo Olympics.

Danny Giraldo
There was a notable absentee from the Cafeteros Pro roster. Danny Giraldo’s name was missing from the roster named this past week. Giraldo was on the 2020 Peñarol roster. ARN spoke with the 2.02m (6’7″) second-rower. He underwent knee surgery in December and is presently working with Cafeteros Pro staff to see if he can travel to play in March or April.

Pablo Matera, Nicolás Sánchez
Stade Français were 16-11 winners on Saturday. The Parisians were beaten by competition leaders La Rochelle. The Gonzalo Quesada coached side came away with a losing bonus point, though his countrymen playing under him did not have strong matches. Pablo Matera was yellow carded yet again and Nicolás Sánchez was erratic. Marcos Kremer was forced off late after a knock to the head.

Jaguares Exodus
Gonzalo Bertranou will not play in the 2021 SLAR. The scrum half from Mendoza is now in Newport, Wales. He will play the remainder os the 2020-2021 season for the Dragons in the Pro 14. His debut is expected to be this coming weekend. His departure follows that of Tomás Cubelli to the Western Force. Felipe Ezcurra remains in Argentina and will play SLAR for Los Jaguares XV. Bertranou is the 24th player from the 2020 Tri Nations to join the Jaguares exodus.

Argentines eligible for Italy
Benetton Treviso re-signed two Argentine props this past week and added a third. Ivan Nemer and Thomas Gallo both arrived at the Pro 14 side after playing for Argentina u20s. Both are prospective Pumas, though Italy is also interested. The pairing are under the radar for the Azzurri. Neither player is captured by Argentina. Whether this changes or not will likely depend on Italy’s intentions. They will play alongside veteran Puma Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro next season.