Up and Under is a weekly feature on Americas Rugby News which reviews the best and worst from games involving the Americas teams over the previous week. UP Canada Women’s Sevens Spirit and utter determination from captain Jen Kish and her team saw Canada winning Bronze at the Olympics Games …

Agustín Ormaechea produced an impressive performance for Mont de Marsan. In a Pro d2 warm-up fixture the Uruguayan scrum half scored two tries as his team overcame Dax 35-31. Mont de Marsan fielded different teams for the two halves. Ormaechea started the opening half and did a fine job at directly …

Uruguay’s official ‘A’ side, the Uruguay XV will participate in the Campeonato Argentino de Uniones for the second consecutive year. Set to be played in October and November the competition will feature not only Uruguay but also Paraguay in what is the Argentine Provincial Championship. In the 2015 edition of …

The Dominican Republic women’s Rugby Sevens team defeated Cuba to secure the Copa Máximo Gómez.  Played in Bayamo in Granma province the competition was extremely promising for what is a rapidly growing sport throughout the Americas. Participating on international soil for the first time in their history, the Dominican Republic defeated …

Los Pumas 7’s star Juan Pablo Estellés is to play for the Northampton Saints. The center from Atlético del Rosario has joined the Aviva Premiership club on a deal which will see him at the club for the duration of the 2016-2017 season. In moving to England the 28 year …

South African star Duane Vermeulen will not play against Argentina in the opening round of the Rugby Championship. The bruising no8 has injured his knee playing for his French club Toulon and has been withdrawn from the Springbok squad. An MRI has confirmed the damage and Vermeulen will undergo surgery …

Former Canada u20 representative Josh Larsen has been selected to play for Northland in the Mitre 10 Cup. The Vancouver-born lock was in the Otago B group last season but will be part of the senior Taniwha squad in the upcoming provincial competition. He has previously lined up for Otago …

Jake Ilnicki has signed to play for Manawatu Turbos in the Mitre 10 Cup. The Canadian international prop replaces Hubert Buydens on the Manawatu roster after his San Diego Breakers teammate suffered a season-ending knee injury while on PRO Rugby duty. Ilnicki arrived in New Zealand on Wednesday and is …

Canada have made three changes to their original ‘A’ squad headed to the UK next week. Benoît Pifféro, Ben LeSage, and Phil Mackenzie have dropped out of the two-match trip. Called up as replacements are Eric Howard and two uncapped midfielders, Doug Fraser and Sam Hayward. Ontario Blues standout Howard …

The governing body of Italian rugby, the Federazione Italiana Rugby (FIR) is pushing ahead with its World Cup candidacy. In what is a second attempt at securing Rugby World Cup hosting rights, Italy has listed twelve stadiums spread around the country. The Central European country hopes to become the first ever European …