The 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 Guatemala Never is it clearer that progress has been made when a team defeats a side considered to be better. Not …

At last we come to the end of our comparison of Americas depth in terms of professionalism. We’ve looked at the forwards (front row / second row / back row), the halfbacks, and the midfield. Today it’s the speedsters who take centre stage – the outside backs. The South Americans …

The HSBC World Sevens series continues on the weekend at the spectacular Cape Town Stadium in South Africa. Only one team of the 16 did not take part in Dubai, with Zimbabwe taking the place of Japan. Americas pace-setters USA look to continue their fine form as they find themselves …

Canada’s Maple Leafs women’s side dropped their second match to England Academy by 22-19 on Saturday, once again giving up a healthy lead in a frustrating second half that saw them go scoreless. The loss is disappointing but the overall tour will be deemed a success as several players put …

The host nation of the 2015 South American Championship, El Salvador, opened their account with a convincing win earlier today over Panama. The 32-0 win places El Salvador in a strong position to challenge for the title. Los Torogoces converted a 10-0 half time lead into a six tries to …

The national men’s rugby team of Guatemala, Los Jaguares, completed the greatest ever win in their history today, defeating Central American rivals, Costa Rica. In what was a shock result on the opening day of the 2015 South American C Championship, Guatemala overcame Costa Rica 19-17. The winners have enjoyed …

Los Mayuatos defeated Santa Fé by a single point on Saturday afternoon to avoid being relegated to the second division of the Torneo Argentino de Uniones. The 21-20 result means Santa Fé will remain in the second division in 2016 in Argentina’s National Provincial Championship. The game went down to …

A position of frustration for many Americas fans is the midfield. Despite having reasonably capable athletes and several with international size, there remains a scarcity of dynamic attacking centres across the board. Argentina’s midfield has tended to be distributors and strong defenders, while the others have physically strong players but …

Perry Baker’s try-scoring feats in Dubai have been rewarded with selection to the official HSBC Dream Team. The Eagles winger stunned a worldwide audience with a searing outside break to score a classic try in stoppage time against the All Blacks on Day 1. Champions Fiji had three selections, with mesmeric …

Defending HSBC Sevens Series champions Fiji got their 2015/16 season off to a perfect start as they rolled through all comers topped off with a Cup final victory against England. An early try for Tom Bowen put the champions on alert, but Savenaca Rawaca burst through to draw it level …

It may only be one tournament into the new World Series season, but the USA have already shown that their finish at the end of the 2015 was not a fluke. The Eagles defeated New Zealand for the second time in two days to take home 3rd place at the …

Karen Paquin has been named to the official HSBC Dubai Sevens Dream Team. The Canadian forward was outstanding once again, impressing with her physicality and work rate. Joining her up front is tough Australian hooker Amy Turner and England’s World Cup star Emily Scarratt. New Zealand’s Kelly Brazier gets the …

Australia proved to be a step ahead of the field as the Pearls took home the title in round one of the Women’s World Sevens Series. Defending champions New Zealand were shown the door by their neighbors in a terrific quarter-final encounter that went right to the wire. The semi-final …

Following on from the first test, played last Saturday in Blumenau the teams met in São Paulo this evening in the second of two internationals. The 31-7 final score sees the Europeans returning home  with two well-earned results. With both preparing for continental competitions in February and March the series …

François Ratier has made a string of changes to his Maple Leafs side for the second match against England Academy at Esher on Saturday afternoon. His development side dropped the first game 37-29 after leading for much of the match, and the side will be hoping to even up the …

We’ve worked out way through the forwards (front row / second row / back row) and now it’s time for the backs. Traditionally the weakest position in Tier 2 nations and the Americas are certainly no exception, though once again Argentina seem to have a production line of quality playmakers …

The second division of French professional rugby reaches their 11th week of league play this weekend, and a large number of Argentine players are involved, along with one each from Chile, Uruguay, and USA. Agustín Figuerola started at scrumhalf for Lyon in last night’s victory over Bayonne. Benjamín Macome was …

Kicking-off round 10 of the Top 14 this evening will be Pau vs Racing 92. Former Puma Santiago Fernández will not feature but his 2013 Rugby Championship teammates Manuel Carizza and Juan Imhoff are both starting for the visitors. Toulon’s home match against Agen on Saturday is to feature both …

Day 1 of play for the Men’s Division of the Dubai 7s has completed and the quarterfinals are set. The kickoff of the 2015/2016 HSBC World Series provided a fair share of drama as teams embark on the final season before the Olympics. Aside from a couple of teams that …

The Greene King IPA Championship heads into the halfway point with a number of Americas players selected to take part in Round 11 of the English second division. Martín García Veiga returns at hooker to head up Jersey’s meeting with Ealing Trailfinders. Fellow Argentina Ignacio Saenz Lancuba is on the …