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

USA back on winning track as they down Australia
The USA ended an eight-game losing streak with a 16-14 win over Australia in Auckland on Saturday. Three penalties and a conversion from Gabby Cantorna pushed the Eagles to a 16-nil lead but two tries from the Wallaroos in the final quarter made for a nail-biting conclusion to the match.

Brazil Champions and Undefeated
Brazil’s Women also had a great weekend. As Yaras were undefeated in the South American Women’s 7’s this past weekend. They defeated Colombia 27-0 in the tournament final. Argentina claimed third with a 17-0 win over Paraguay. The tournament was another wherein Brazil’s Women’s proved to be the best by a distance at Women’s Rugby Sevens in the region.

Los Cóndores Go Strong
Chile has assembled a strong roster to prepare for upcoming international competition against Scotland and the USA. Los Cóndores are preparing for the three matches in the country’s far north. Preparations see ther players and staff together at a special training camp in Antofagasta. The roster contains 32 players, all of whom came through the local system and were developed by Chilean rugby.

New York Book Spot in Eastern Conference Final
Rugby New York have earned their spot in the Eastern Conference Final with a 26-19 win over Rugby ATL on Saturday night. It was the visitors whose defense held strongest to deny their opponents any room to attack. New York will move on to face the New England Free Jacks in Quincy next Sunday.

Seattle Secure Spot in Western Conference Final
The Seattle Seawolves stormed past the San Diego Legion by a final score of 43-19 on Sunday evening. A packed house at Starfire Stadium were treated to an entertaining match that saw the home side dominate the set piece, while AJ Alatimu kicked 21 points to lead the way into next Saturday’s Western Conference Final against the SaberCats in Houston

Ravens Down SLAR Champions’ development XV
The Vancouver vs Montevideo battle was won by the UBCOB Ravens. The Canadian side were 23-14 winners against a very young Peñarol on Saturday. The teams each touched down for two tries. Scrum-half Alex Ball scored for the Ravens and No8 Pedro Mársico did so for Peñarol. The final quarter opened with the Ravens leading 14-13. Ball’s second try and a penalty to Gradyn Bowd meant the UBCOB Ravens scored ten points in the final minutes to seal the result.

Pumas Star in Top 14
Pumas were in the thick of the action in the Top 14 this weekend. Santiago Cordero, Jerónimo de la Fuente, and Juan Cruz Mallía scored tries in decisive matches; all of which were winning efforts. Bordeaux and Toulouse secured their places in the Top 14 Semi Finals while Perpignan defeated Mont de Marsan in the access match to avoid relegation to the Pro D2.

Rapid Redemption for Matías Moroni
Matías Moroni is back on the roster for Argentina. The Leicester Tiger was named on the Argentina XV for next month’s tour to Georgia and Portugal. This caught many by surprise as Moroni has been a regular in Pumas line-ups since 2016. Moroni will now not play for the Argentina XV; instead, he has been added to Los Pumas‘ roster to face Scotland. He replaces Santiago Chocobares who is out for the year. The Toulouse center is to undergo knee surgery.

Emiliano Boffelli voted best
And the Glen Moray Players’ Player of the Season goes to… Emiliano Boffelli. The Puma was voted Glen Moray Players’ Player of the Season by his Edinburgh teammates. In his first season in the United Rugby Championship, Boffelli made more than an impression. Boffelli played 1403 minutes for Edinburgh. He scored eight tries and kicked 38 goals during the season.

UNDER

Canada Shut Out 
New Zealand earned a convincing 28-0 victory over Canada in Auckland on Saturday night to retain their No2 world ranking. The Black Ferns bullied the Canadians up front and dominated the collisions, their rush defense never allowing the visitors to be comfortable on attack. It was a disappointing outing for Canada who had designs on an upset heading in.

Brazil Miss Out
Brazil’s Men’s test side, Os Tupis had a solid fixture list during the RWC 2015-2019 cycle. There was the Americas Rugby Championship, and other incoming matches such as European test teams playing in the country. This has not happened since 2019 and no home test matches have been secured for July. While Chile are on the verge of qualifying for the World Cup for the first time, Brazil have absolutely missed out.

No Cocktails for Disqualified LA
In a stunning turn of events a second team was disqualified from the Major League Rugby playoffs. The LA Giltinis joined the Austin Gilgronis on the sidelines. LA are the defending champions and were due to host the Western Conference Final this past weekend. was passed to the Houston SaberCats while the Seattle Seawolves faced the San Diego Legion.

American Raptors Held to Zero by Jaguares XV
Los Jaguares XV shut out the American Raptors in Glendale. The opening match of the Challenge Cup of the Americas was all about the Argentines. The 69-0 win saw no points conceded and eleven tries scored. The match was far from an even contest but was a contest with positives as the potential is real for matches between SLAR and MLR teams.

Clouds Surround Guido Petti
Guido Petti remains sidelined. He was injured in January and has yet to play regularly since then. He did not play for Bordeaux against Racing 92 on Sunday. Petti is at the top of the list for the Pumas 4 shirt. Argentina will want him fit and with game time ahead of the home series against Scotland next month.