We’ve almost put a wrap on a difficult and frustrating 2020, but there were still some rugby games to keep an eye on this past weekend. Americas players were busy in Europe with the Champions Cup, Challenge Cup, Pro D2, and Premier 15s all underway. So too the Currie Cup …

Brive defeated Castres on Tuesday evening. The Top 14 side’s win featured one try. The scored was Argentine 2016 Olympian Axel Müller. His late try brought Brive back to give them a winning chance. Thomas Laranjeira did the rest. His long-range penalty saw Brive competing a 25-24 win. Müller was …

Match order is fundamental in sport. Some teams can be eliminated early based on how their matches are distributed. This issue has occurred repeatedly at RWCs. There are a number of reasons for this, none more so than organizers positioning key pool matches at certain points of the pool phase. …

The LA Giltinis have confirmed the signing of Belmont Shore winger Visesio Leasi for the 2021 Major League Rugby season. An imposing figure at 6’2″ (1.88m) and 240lbs (110kg), it’s the first professional contract for the 23-year-old. Leasi was born in American Samoa and played for Samoa Schools against Australia …

Old Glory DC has secured a partnership with The St. James as their full-time training facility for the 2021 Major League Rugby season. The sports complex, located in nearby Springfield, Virginia, served as the venue for the team’s two preseason games prior to the 2020 campaign. In addition to the …

Mike Shepherd will play a fourth Major League Rugby season with the Seattle Seawolves. The 31-year-old hooker has extended his stay with the two-time champions, becoming the 13th player to renew during the off-season and third front rower. Injuries have disrupted Shepherd’s involvement with the team during his the first …

The Newcastle Falcons have signed Santiago Grondona from Los Jaguares. The Northern English side play in England’s elite level competition, the English Premiership. Newcastle have confirmed contracts for both Grondona and Mateo Carreras until the end of the season. Grondona joins hot on the heels of making his test debut. …

The LA Giltinis will welcome a third player from Darren Coleman’s Shute Shield-winning Gordon side for the 2021 Major League Rugby season. Having already confirmed hooker Mahe Vailanu and scrumhalf Harrison Goddard, LA will bring in front rower Robbie Abel to help bolster the scrum. At 28 years old Charlie …

The Greene King IPA Championship, England’s second division, will begin a drastically reduced season on the weekend of March 6. Having conceded six months to the pandemic, the 12-team competition will now be split into two conferences with each side playing 10 regular season games. It remains to be seen …

Italy have confirmed their test calendar for 2021. In addition to their annual Six Nations fixtures there is a two-match series against the All Blacks in July, with a third match against New Zealand in November followed by tests against Argentina and Uruguay. The Azzurri were due to tour the …

The Bristol Bears have signed Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro from Los Jaguares. It marks a return to the UK for the 31-year-old. He previously played in the Pro 14 for the Dragons in 2013-2014. The experienced prop has also previously played for Lyon and Stade Français in the Top 14 and …

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 2021 Súper Liga Americana de Rugby The second edition of the Súper Liga American de Rugby (SLAR) will have …

Racing 92 have signed Emiliano Boffelli from Los Jaguares. It sees Argentina’s 2020 player exodus continuing. The move also comes shortly after Bordeaux signed fellow Jaguares outside back, Bautista Delguy from Los Jaguares. Racing 92 will be home to two players from Rosario club Duendes: Juan Imhoff and Emiliano Boffelli. The …

The South American RWC 2023 qualifiers will be played exclusively in Montevideo. Both tournaments scheduled for June and July of 2021 will take place at the Estadio Charrúa. The first round will be a pre-qualifying tournament in June 2021. Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Paraguay will compete with the top two …

Teams from Colombia and Paraguay are to have priority in the 2021 SLAR draft. Los Cafeteros Pro (Colombia) and the Olímpia Lions (Paraguay) will have 15 national players and 15 Argentine players in their respective 30-man rosters. The player draft is yet to be finalized. Players involved will be UAR …

Bordeaux claimed maximum points on Saturday. The French Top 14 completed a 47-8 rout over Welsh region the Dragons. Puma Santiago Cordero was at the forefront of the win with a hat-trick. Cordero played the match on the right wing. In addition to scoring three tries he also ran 126 …

Luca Tani will trade one cocktail for another as the Austin Gilgronis lock has signed for the LA Giltinis. The 25-year-old from Santa Cruz returns to his home state for the 2021 Major League Rugby season. A late addition to the AG’s roster in 2020 from San Francisco Golden Gate, …

Los Jaguares will not play in Super Rugby in 2021. The team is yet to be confirmed for a competition. The competition that they do play in will not be the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR). This past weeks confirmation of the 2021 league noted that there will be …

The Austin Gilgronis have signed a third scrumhalf for the 2021 Major League Rugby season. 20-year-old Indiana native Sidney Shoop joins incumbent internationals Marcelo Torrealba and Pele Cowley at the revamped Texas club. Shoop earned invitations to two High School All-American camps while playing for South Greenville. He attended the …

Mexico is eyeing a future in Major League Rugby. Plans for the coming decade include a Mexican team in the USA-based competition. Such a move would see Mexico joining professional rugby for the first time and see the MLR expanded to a third North American country. The plans were confirmed …