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 accepted as potential Rugby World Cup Host USA Rugby has been formally accepted as a candidate to host …

The LA Giltinis got back to their winning ways with a crushing 52-5 win over the Houston SaberCats at the Memorial Coliseum on Sunday. It sets a new Major League Rugby record for winning differential, overtaking the previous 45-point mark set by Toronto against Seattle in April. There seemed to …

A try from Pieter Jansen with just five minutes remaining propelled the New England Free Jacks to a 25-21 win over the Seawolves at Union Point Stadium on Sunday. Seattle proved worthy competitors and denied their hosts a try bonus which may prove costly to their playoff ambitions. The opening …

A number of Argentines played impressive rugby over the weekend. Players shined across different leagues in what was one of the final weekends of the regular season in Europe. In England Pumas shined for the Leicester Tigers. Two Argentine forwards got their names on the scoresheets with second half tries; …

Rugby United New York were 31-24 winners over Rugby ATL in a pulsating contest at Belson Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The result halts ATL’s six-game winning streak but two losing bonus points keep the Ratlers at the top of the Eastern Conference for now. A miscue off the boot of …

Máximo Ledesma will continue his professional career in Italy. The Argentine fly half will join Rugby Lyons Piacenza for the 2021-2022 season, doing so from Paraguay’s Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR) entrant the Olímpia Lions. Ledesma moves to Europe following two seasons of SLAR for the Paraguayan side. He …

In a crucial MLR Western Conference match, the Utah Warriors played host to the San Diego Legion this evening. The contest was back-and-forth for the duration; it was a try fest with twelve visits into the try zone. The Warriors came back from 17 points down to win a candidate …

The Austin Gilgronis dominated an exhausted Arrows side by a record score of 47-21 at a blazing hot Bold Stadium on Saturday evening. It set a new mark for points scored against the Canadian franchise, and is the first time Toronto has suffered three consecutive defeats. An early foray into …

NOLA kept their playoff hopes alive with a 25-21 win over Old Glory DC at Segra Field on Saturday. It was a scrappy match that saw three Gold players spending time in the sin bin. Each side scored three tries with penalty kicks proving to be the difference. The Gold …

Los Pumas face a nervous wait over Pablo Matera’s fitness. The former Argentine captain was injured on Friday evening while playing for Stade Français. He was replaced in the 22nd minute by the returning Marcos Kremer. Matera left after taking a blow to his knee. He will see a specialist …

A loaded 13th week of the season wraps up with the most lop-sided pairing of the weekend. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum will be the backdrop as the table-topping Giltinis host the last-place Houston SaberCats for a late afternoon Sunday kickoff. Ironically it was the SaberCats who helped lift some of …

Biarritz will play in the 2021-2022 Top 14. The Basque club won promotion by defeating Bayonne earlier today. The play-off was tryless yet it was simply amazing. The scores were tied 3-3 after 80 minutes and 6-6 at the end of extra time. That meant a penalty shoot-out determined whose …

New England will look to set a new team mark when they host the Seattle Seawolves at Union Point Stadium on Sunday. Back-to-back wins over Toronto and DC have the Free Jacks aiming for a first-ever third consecutive victory, with their undefeated home record also on the line. The two …

The US Eagles are set to be without their star flyhalf and newly-appointed captain for the July internationals and beyond. AJ MacGinty was stretchered off with a knee injury in the 80th minute of Sale’s Premiership match against Exeter Chiefs on Saturday afternoon. Specifics of the injury are yet to …

Major League Rugby returns to New York State for the first time since May 26, 2019, in the first of three Sunday matches. Rugby United New York hosts Rugby ATL at a new venue, Belson Stadium on the Queens campus of St. John’s University. It’s a fascinating contest that could …

Wrapping up Saturday’s trio of clashes is arguably the most intriguing. The second-place Utah Warriors host the surging San Diego Legion in a match that will either propel the hosts one step closer to their Semi Final goal or vault the visitors back into the contenders list. It was San …

Saturday evening promises to be a memorable occasion for the Austin Gilgronis as they host the Toronto Arrows at Bold Stadium. It’s both the last home game of the regular season for the AG’s and the last road game for the Arrows. Victory is essential for Austin if they hope …

The first of six games this weekend is an Eastern Conference match-up between Old Glory DC and NOLA Gold. For both it could be a last-gasp chance to stay alive in the playoff race, though NOLA’s outlook looks decidedly better than that of their hosts at the moment. It was …

The LA Giltinis have announced the signing of second row Shawn Clark and hooker Gelen Robinson for the remainder of the season. Both players come from the Colorado XO crossover athlete program. At 6’8″ (2.04m) Clark joins San Diego’s Victor Comptat and New York’s Nick Civetta as the tallest players …

Houston have begun the search for a new Head Coach with confirmation that Paul Healy will depart when his contract expires at the end of the season. The news comes as the SaberCats occupy the bottom of the overall table with just two wins from 11 games. There were early …