Up and Under

Up and Under is a weekly exclusive on Americas Rugby News. It takes a dive into the best and worst involving Americas Rugby from the past week.

UP

Chile to make history before and at World Cup
The world’s eyes will be on Chile’s national Men’s Rugby team in 2023. Every one of Chile’s Rugby World Cup 2023 matches will be historic. Los Cóndores have never played against England, Japan or Samoa. Meanwhile, the match against Argentina will mark the first-ever Rugby World Cup fixture between two South American teams. Chile will face Namibia for the first time in a RWC warm-up fixture.

Argentine Giants to team-up at Clermont
It is official – Clermont will soon be home to two Argentine giants. Following the recent signing of Marcos Kremer from Stade Français the club has retained Tomás Lavanini on a new contract. The deal means that the Argentine giants will team-up at Clermont. They hold down starting positions for Los Pumas. Both were magnificent for Argentina in the historic 2022 Rugby Championship win over the All Blacks in New Zealand.

Argentina down USA Hawks ahead of U20 World Championship
Argentina u20’s completed a comfortable win over the USA Hawks on Saturday. Playing away from home, Los Pumitas won 33-12. The Argentina u20’s side had a healthy contingent of Super Rugby Americas talent. Players from Los Pampas and Los Dogos were on display and impressive against the senior USA Hawks side. Second-rower Eliseo Chiavassa captained the side.

Free Jacks smash Toronto Arrows
New England hammered the Toronto Arrows by a final score of 80-5 at York Lions Stadium on Saturday. It sets new Major League Rugby marks for points scored, winning margin, and tries scored by one team as the visitors rained in a dozen from all angles while conceding only one themselves. On form the Free Jacks are clear favorites to take the Eastern Conference title.

Houston survive the brutal battle of Texas
The Houston SaberCats survived a stern test in their Texas derby against Dallas to come away with a 33-21 result on Saturday evening. It was a tense encounter from the start with off-the-ball scuffles and brutal physicality from both sides. Ultimately the Jackals left without a bonus point but the result was still in doubt well past the 70-minute mark.

Warriors flying high after exciting win over Seawolves
Greg Cooper’s Warriors are riding a four-game win streak after taking it to the Seawolves on Saturday. It was a thrilling game with both sides giving as good as they got until the visitors ran out of steam in the final quarter. Both teams have the postseason in sights but with Houston and San Diego also in the mix, it’s impossible to say which one will end up with the short straw.

Legion run rampant over Hounds
It took a little while to wear down Chicago, who despite the losing disparity took home a bonus point in defeat. While the Hounds were forced to earn their tries, the Legion made it look easy and showed – if there was any doubt – they have the depth to take a serious run at the title. Ironically it might be in Chicago where they lift their first MLR Shield.

Peñarol knock down the Héroes de Curupayty walls
A fine performance from Peñarol saw the Uruguayans conquering Yacare on Saturday. Played at the Héroes de Curupayty, Peñarol were 43-17 winners. The result moves the Uruguayans closer to securing a home Super Rugby Americas 2023 Semi Final. The six tries to two win further underlines Peñarol as Super Rugby Americas heavyweights.

Dogos withstand Ferocious Sting of Cobras in Córdoba
A competitive contest went the way of Los Dogos on Friday. With home support to cheer them on, the Córdoba side withstood the ferocious sting of Os Cobras to claim a hard-fought victory. The 45-29 win was come-from-behind. Mateo Soler was the hero with a hat-trick.

Pampas Run Wild in Colorado
Los Pampas were highly impressive against the American Raptors on Sunday. The team from Buenos Aires, Argentina completed a dominant bonus option victory in Denver, Colorado. Joaquín de la Vega Mendía kicked 9/9 and Lucio Auad scored a hat-trick.

Selknam and Black Lion put on epic contest as Chile and Georgia eye World Cup
In a special intercontinental contest Selknam and Black Lion went head-to-head on Friday. These are teams from Super Rugby Americas and the Rugby Europe Super Cup respectively. In what was an epic contest Black Lion finished 33-30 winners. The match was not decided until the final tackle was made. The lead changed hands with Selknam having fought back from being well behind to lead in the final minutes.

Argentines Run in Tries in Europe
This past weekend saw a healthy number of tries scored by Argentines in elite European leagues. Emiliano Boffelli scored fro Edinburgh against the Ospreys. Tomás Albornoz, Joaquín Riera and Juan Ignacio Brex scored for Benetton against the Sharks. In England, Santiago Carreras scored for Gloucester against Bath and Mateo Carreras scored for Newcastle against the Harlequins. Lucas Paulos and Nicolás Sánchez scored for Brive against Stade Français.

UNDER

Arrows humiliated in Toronto
The Toronto Arrows have now lost five matches in a row, their only victory this season a one-point win over the expansion Chicago Hounds. Heavy defeats were suffered against DC, New York, and Utah, but none bigger than the record-breaking humiliation against the New England Free Jacks on Saturday. In fact no team in MLR history has been on the end of such a one-sided beating.

Pete Smith under fire for poor performance
There’s been no shortage of misfortunate for the Arrows during Pete Smith’s tenure, but a coach’s job is to find solutions rather than excuses. Saturday’s loss – at home – was worse than anything endured by Dallas last season, and the level of talent available to Toronto was an order of magnitude higher. Fair questions are being asked if Smith is the right man for the job. Other coaches have faced the axe with more palatable results.

NOLA fall back to early season form against ATL
The Gold continue to be unable to solve the ATL puzzle, even on their home turf. After a run of three straight wins and a one-point loss to previously-unbeaten Seattle, NOLA fell back to their uninspired early season form and took nothing from Saturday’s game. Not only did their playoff hopes take a hit, they also lost star player Tom Florence to a knee injury.

Ironworkers outworked by Old Glory
Both sides had rosters short of their best but New York’s was the stronger of the two on paper. On the field, however, DC showed greater resolution and outworked the Ironworkers en route to a come-from-behind victory that included a 30-point second half. The defending champions are still in the playoff mix but few would pick them to repeat at the midpoint of the season.

Raptors can’t find the formula
The American Raptors are 0-7 in Super Rugby Americas 2023. The team based in Denver, Colorado are yet to register a win. The aim is now to achieve a first franchise win. If that box is ticked only then can there be a goal to avoid the wooden spoon. Selknam and Os Cobras have two wins with the former having a game in hand.

Retirement call from Leandro Cedaro
Leandro Cedaro has announced his retirement. The 35-year-old from Resistencia, Argentina will step away from rugby at the completion of this season. The 120kg second-rower has played professional rugby in France since 2009. He played for Vannes, Agen, La Rochelle and Mont de Marsan over a very impressive period. He turned-down Argentina XV selection to play for Italy. He played against Scotland in 2013.

Bautista Ezcurra Out of Action
The Argentine center will not play again this season. He has been ruled out of the final three rounds of the Pro D2 season. He will also miss out on possible play-off’s and promotion matches. Bautista Ezcurra is out with a broken wrist. He was injured playing for Grenoble against Charente last month. His recovery time will see him not play again until the 2023-2024 season. He is contracted to the club on a long-term deal.

Prior Hosts Lining Up to host the Rugby World Cup Again
Before three other Men’s Rugby World Cup tournaments take place there is confirmed interest in hosting Rugby World Cup 2035. The first to state the intention to bid was England. This past week saw Japan declare it wants to host the same Rugby World Cup. For a country that hosted in 2019 this is plain ridiculous. As in many other areas, innovations are not World Rugby’s strong point. Want something new? Italy are confirmed as intending to bid. Italy is easily ARN’s preference of the three.