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

World Sevens Series Returns
The Madrid Sevens served as a precursor for World Rugby’s big announcement that the World Sevens Series is returning. The structure remains a work in progress but five women’s and four men’s events have been confirmed to date. Vancouver is on the possibles list and while Los Angeles does not get a spot on the circuit, it will host an Olympic warm-up tournament at the end of June. The timing of the announcement was somewhat curious coming in the same week that two other World Rugby tournaments received disappointing news…

Potential Mid-Year Tests for USA
The USA are in talks to play the Springboks in late June, followed by England. In fact some sources have suggested the Eagles could be a potential mid-week opponent for the British & Irish Lions. All of these are exceptional opportunities not to be missed. The unfortunate part is the timing – with Major League Rugby set to run until August 1 this season there will be clashes between club and country that would not have come in a pandemic-free environment.

MLR Preseason Begins
It will only be comprised of a handful of games over two weekends, but the Major League Rugby preseason kicked off on Saturday. Rugby ATL came from behind to defeat the Utah Warriors at Salt Lake nearly a year after the league suspended play. A double-header in Houston saw Austin stretch their legs in a 50-minute run-out against a NOLA ‘B’ side, while the NOLA ‘A’ side earned a comfortable win over the host SaberCats. Houston will take on the AG’s at AVEVA Stadium on Thursday evening.

MLR Signings
Better late than never is our theme for this week’s MLR signings summary. RUNY confirmed four local players – props Anthony Parry and Joe Brady, utility back Chris Mattina, and winger Luke Hume. The latter returns after a year out with injury. NOLA re-signed William Waguespack and welcomed Timothée Guillimin back to MLR from France, though they also said confirmed the returns of Scott Gale and Con Foley to Australia. Utah promoted James Mocke to a senior deal, Angel Torres signed with Austin, and San Diego has done the impossible by convincing ex-Eagles prop Chris Baumann to try out MLR for the first time.

Danny Giraldo, Jardel Vettorato to play in SLAR
Colombia’s entry in the Super Liga Americana de Rugby and the Brazil XV have received boosts to their rosters ahead of the first round to be hosted in Chile. Towering second row Danny Giraldo has recovered from injury to take his place with Cafeteros Pro, a team that is now set to field the tallest forward pack in the competition. Meanwhile near-legendary tighthead prop Jardel Vettorato was a surprise inclusion the Cobras squad almost two years since his last test appearance for Os Tupis.

Pumas in Europe
A number of Pumas excelled in European matches over the weekend. Matías Moroni was Man of the Match for Leicester in their win over London Irish, while Santiago Socino grabbed his first try for Gloucester against Wasps. Over in France there were two tries from Rodrigo Bruni as Vannes stretched their lead at the top of the Pro D2. Benjamín Urdapilleta continued his run of form with Castres, and Marcos Kremer touched down for Stade Français.

AJ MacGinty, German Kessler
It wasn’t just the Argentines who were in a scoring mood over the weekend. Eagles flyhalf AJ MacGinty had another outstanding game for Sale Sharks which included a magical behind-the-back pass to Lood de Jager that will go down as one of the tries of the year. Teros hooker Germán Kessler scored two tries for Charente that proved crucial in their narrow victory over Provence.

Gabby Cantorna, McKinley Hunt
Many are calling Exeter’s come-from-behind win over Wasps the best match of the Premier 15s season. Rising USA star Gabby Cantorna was once again front and center for the Chiefs with 11 points in a 5-for-5 kicking performance including the game-winning penalty. She also contributed a try-saving tackle on full-time that preserved the win. Canadian lock McKinley Hunt has been unstoppable from close range this season and she powered over for a hat-trick of tries with Taylor Black adding a single.

 

UNDER

Rugby World Cup 2021
World Rugby has recommended a postponement of the Women’s World Cup to be hosted by New Zealand. The news came on Tuesday of their preference to delay the tournament for one year, with a final decision set to be made this week. On one hand players and coaches will be disappointed with preparations already well under way for those qualified; On the other teams that had not yet qualified will now have much more time to be ready, while the potential clash with the Olympics is avoided for some players eyeing both.

World Rugby u20 Trophy
There was no surprise later in the week when World Rugby confirmed the cancellation of the second-tier u20 Trophy tournament. The top-tier u20 Championship had already suffered the same fate. Both age grade competitions which have seen numerous players graduate to test level have now been wiped out for two years in a row. It’s not clear at this stage if a u20 ARC this year will be possible though World Rugby says that regional solutions are being discussed.

Rugby United New York
It was looking like all positives this week for RUNY until Thursday’s shock news that Greg McWilliams had resigned as Head Coach. A hugely popular figure in American rugby circles, McWilliams has stepped away to help care for his wife who is battling cancer. No replacement has been named though RUNY Chairman Guy Bolton has indicated that a search for a new Head Coach has already begun. Forwards Coach Marty Veale, formerly Head Coach of Old Blue, looms as the most likely candidate to lead in the interim.

Javier Ortega Desio
Argentina’s starting No8 at Rugby World Cup 2019 has been dropped from the Jaguares XV squad to play in SLAR. It’s a dramatic fall from grace for the 30-year-old, who Pumas coach Mario Ledesma says has been performing below his potential in recent times. Highly-rated teenager Joaquín Oviedo is set to start in the back row in Ortega Desio’s place.

Arthur Bergo, Lucas Tranquez
While Cobras are celebrating the return of Jardel Vettorato, there were 10 players from the original long-list who did not make the cut. Most notable were test veterans Arthur Bergo and Lucas Tranquez. Bergo misses out with injury though the team is well covered in the back row. Tranquez has been omitted with Argentine pair Franco Giudice and Marcos De Sanctis preferred as versatile back options.