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

Argentina Men’s Sevens
Argentina were crowned Men’s champions in Dubai this past weekend. Los Pumas went unbeaten in the two-day tournament to underline their Olympic medals credentials. Argentina won the final 19-7 against France on Sunday. The win follows Argentina’s two tournament wins earlier this year in Madrid. Los Pumas have three tournament wins without losing a match in 2021.

Canada Women’s Sevens
Canada were crowned the Women’s champions in Dubai. The North Americans defeated neighbors the USA 31-14 in the final. The result was the Women’s Eagles’ one and only defeat of the competition. Canada’s road to the final began on Day two against France 1. It was the first competitive action for Canada since early 2020, and the first under interim coach Mick Byrne.

New England Free Jacks
After a year’s wait the Free Jacks finally got to play a Major League Rugby match on their home turf at Union Point Stadium. Pandemic restrictions meant it couldn’t be the packed crowd it would have, but the limited fans that were in attendance were treated to an exciting match that saw New England beating Utah by 22-21.

Toronto Arrows
The rust looks to be shaken out for the Toronto Arrows as they rebounded from two straight losses with a dominant 40-19 win over Old Glory DC at Segra Field on Saturday. Five tries to three was the final tally after the home side grabbed a late consolation effort.

Rugby ATL
Rugby ATL produced a stunning performance at Lupo Family Field on Saturday evening, turning away the visiting San Diego Legion by a final score of 41-22. A one-sided second half and 21 points from the boot of Robbie Petzer was the difference as ATL set new franchise marks for points scored and winning margin. Moving Bautista Ezcurra to fly half was a master-stroke. The team will be looking for him to play similarly in coming matches. He will join Grenoble in the Pro D2 in July.

Jaguares XV
Los Jaguares have won all of their SLAR matches and done so with a bonus point. The perfect record underlines Argentine rugby’s standing in South America. The best performances against Los Jaguares were both this past week. The Olímpia Lions were impressive early on and Peñarol had their moments against the Argentines. A number of players have impressed to the extent that places on the Pumas roster for July is very likely.

Olímpia Lions
The Olímpia Lions claimed their second Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR) win of the season on Sunday. The Paraguayan side downed Los Cafeteros Pro in a high-scoring thriller. Two wins from five matches is a positive return for the team at the midway stage of the competition.

AJ MacGinty
The Sale Sharks qualified for the Quarter Finals of the Champions Cup. It sets a new mark for points scored in European competition by Sale, and also saw a new individual points record for the club from AJ MacGinty. The US Eagles flyhalf scored 32 points with one try and a flawless display of kicking. He was 11 from 11 off the tee converting all six tries and adding five penalty goals. It sets a new Sale record for most points in the professional era, defeating the previous record of 28 set by Danny Cipriani in 2013.

Argentines in Europe
There were also some impressive performances from Argentines in Europe. Of them, Juan Ignacio Brex and Matías Moroni were try scorers in wins in the Challenge Cup. There were also winners in the Champions Cup. Facundo Bosch was the starting hooker for La Rochelle in their away win over Gloucester on Friday. Guido Petti was everywhere for Bordeaux in their home win over the Bristol Bears on Sunday.

UNDER

Houston SaberCats
The SaberCats have claimed a double doughnut. That is to say, that the team was defeated without scoring a point in their previous two matches. Austin were 26-0 winners over Houston on Saturday. The result saw the AG’s retain the Texas Cup. Seven days earlier Houston were defeated 32-0 at home by Old Glory DC. All is not well at AVEVA Stadium.

San Diego Legion
The Legion were cleanly beaten away in Atlanta on Saturday. The loss takes the team to a 1-2 record for the season. Their lone victory over Austin was far from convincing and New York were the better side in the season opener. Fittingly, perhaps, the Legion now travel to Houston to face the slumping SaberCats on Saturday.

Cobras Brasil XV
It was a week of highs and lows for Os Cobras Brasil XV. The team defeated Los Cafeteros Pro 30-14 on Tuesday but was beaten 66-10 by Selknam on Sunday. The match was a must win against the Colombian side and Os Cobras got the job done; albeit, the performance was far from sufficient. Against Selknam, the wheels came off as Os Cobras were hammered. With an eye to the RWC 2023 qualifiers there is reason for grave concern for Brazil.

LA Giltinis
LA have been forced to sell two strong players due to salary cap considerations. Nick Boyer’s stay with the LA Giltinis has been short-lived. The Sacramento native has departed the expansion side for Houston. He is the second off-season LA signing traded without playing a game for the club following Mika Kruse, who has now joined the Utah Warriors.

Juan Echeverría, Augusto Böhme
Suspensions were handed out to Juan Echeverría (Peñarol) and Augusto Böhme (Selknam). The former missed Sunday’s match while the latter also did and he will not be available for this coming Sunday’s match in Montevideo. Both front-rowers were suspended for foul play in round four of SLAR.