2019 Timeline Review

Every year we seem to say the same thing – “this was the biggest ever for rugby in the Americas” – and this was no exception. In fact we will boldly predict that 2020 is even bigger. This year could be a tipping point with big names signing on for Major League Rugby, three new markets entering the fold, and South America jumping on the professional bandwagon. There is much to absorb. In the meantime, here is a look back at some of the stories that shaped 2019.

January 4 – One of the USA’s greatest professional players bids adieu to Europe. Samu Manoa ends his Cardiff Blues contract early to return home to California. He would return to the sport in the spring with the Seattle Seawolves, but the Eagles were no longer on his priority list and Manoa would soon call time on his international career.

January 13 – Argentina’s selection policy is set to be tested even further with news that Pumas captain Pablo Matera has signed for Stade Français. Initially meant to be at the end of the 2020 Super Rugby season, he makes the move early and will start the new decade in Paris.

January 14 – Chile wrap up an impressive Sudamérica Sevens series by winning both Punta del Este and Viña del Mar. It’s the first ever South American title for the Cóndores and booked them a spot in the Vancouver and Las Vegas tournaments.

January 26 – Perry Baker suffers a serious injury would see him out of action for four months. Two iconic cities officially begin their MLR journeys as Toronto were narrowly defeated by the Gold in New Orleans, while New York started the next day with a thrilling win over the Legion in San Diego.

February 4 – A year of mixed emotions for Folau Niua. He moves past Zack Test to become the USA’s all-time cap leader for sevens in Sydney. Just a week earlier, in Hamilton, he was given his first tournament Dream Team selection. A terrible leg break ended his season in Paris at the beginning of June, and just days later he was named to the official 2018-19 season Dream Team alongside Ben Pinkelman and Stephen Tomasin.

February 9 – It’s an historic day for the Cayman Islands as they rout Guyana to earn a first ever place in the Americas Rugby Challenge. While the trio of Colombia, Mexico, and Paraguay would prove too much later in the year, it was a milestone achievement in a year that also included the hosting of the Olympic Qualifiers in June.

February 24 – Brazil come oh-so-close to toppling the Eagles in Texas. In what was a special night for the Duque brothers, both Lucas and Moisés would score tries as they joined an elite group of only five Tupis to play in 50 test matches. Lucas would bring an end to his international career playing against the Barbarians in November.

March 3 – The Men’s Eagles conquer Vegas at the end of what is a wild week of rugby in the Americas. Plans of the new ‘World League‘ are rippling across the region, while the Argentina XV clinches the Americas Rugby Championship title and Uruguay upsets the USA in Seattle as Joe Taufete’e sets a new world record. Toronto and NOLA are forced to play in horrific snowy conditions, and the Jaguares beat the Blues in Buenos Aires.

March 11 – ‘The Oitomen Empire’ hits fever pitch as Toronto’s teenage sensation Avery Oitomen scores two tries to spark an incredible come-from-behind win over the Legion in San Diego. It proves a vital result for the Arrows in their playoff hunt and marks Oitomen as a star of the future.

March 25 – Canadian great Jamie Cudmore leaves his post in charge of Aix-en-Provence, and files a case against former employers Clermont Auvergne. Later that year he will depart France and take over as Head Coach of the revived Pacific Pride program.

April 1 – Former league commissioner Dean Howes confirms that MLR will be expanding to 12 teams in 2020. Joining the league in the new season will be Old Glory DC, Rugby ATL, and the New England FreeJacks. The Dallas franchise is also listed as a likely addition in 2021, and the new regional conference system is unveiled.

April 5 – It’s sad news for Canada and happy for Brazil. Kingsley Jones is forced to reconsider his World Cup options at hooker as Ray Barkwill announces his retirement due to injury. Meanwhile in Hong Kong, the Yaras go unbeaten to win Core Status on the women’s circuit. The next step – a push into the top 10 – remains elusive.

April 19 – Dual-international star Karen Paquin confirms her return for Canada after a two-year absence. She leads Canada to glory at Kitakyushu and earns a spot in the tournament Dream Team. Two big targets are now on Paquin’s horizon – the 2020 Olympics and 2021 World Cup.

April 26 – The Barbarians arrive on American soil for the first time, edging the Women’s Eagles in a thrilling contest at Infinity Park. The event also draws the ire of American rugby fans as many are unable to watch it under USA Rugby’s continued agreement with subscription service FloRugby.

April 29 – Two weeks after the rumors began in earnest, Rugby United New York confirms the signing of French giant Mathieu Bastareaud. It’s the first big name on the arrivals list and is followed by Ma’a Nonu to San Diego, Digby Ioane and Rene Ranger to Colorado, Juan Manuel Leguizamón to Seattle, and arguably the biggest name yet to come in December…

May 10 – Better news arrives for Canada as star winger Jeff Hassler makes a surprise return to rugby and signs for the Seattle Seawolves. Less than a week later, DTH van der Merwe is back from injury earlier than expected. The duo would man the wings for Canada in their underwhelming World Cup campaign.

May 23 – Santiago Cordero caps an outstanding domestic season with selection to the official Premiership Dream Team. Earlier in the week he was named Player of the Year at Exeter Chiefs. Despite the success he is inexplicably overlooked for World Cup selection by Mario Ledesma.

June 3 – The 2018-19 HSBC Men’s Sevens Series comes to a close with Fiji taking the overall series title. After leading for parts of the campaign, the USA falls just short but celebrates a best-ever 2nd overall finish. The team’s Olympic medal aspirations now look very achievable.

June 17 – Three big events take place over three days. Uruguay beat the Argentina XV to claim a third Nations Cup crown, Seattle stuns San Diego to lift their second consecutive MLR Shield, and the Women’s Eagles upset New Zealand to claim their first ever Cup Final win.

June 19 – Plans for much-debated and highly controversial ‘World League’ are officially over as World Rugby pulls the plug on negotiations. Some lament a ‘missed opportunity’ while others celebrate the death of what might have had catastrophic implications for second tier nations.

July 6 – Los Jaguares bring an end to their most successful season ever, albeit in defeat. They fall to the Crusaders in a dreary Super Rugby Final hosted in Christchurch.

July 7 – Canada’s Men celebrate Olympic qualification for the first time. They are the sixth Americas team to qualify in 2019 with the USA and Argentina also making the men’s bracket, while the USA, Canada, and Brazil will compete in the women’s competition. More will compete in 2020’s Repechage tournament.

July 13 – The Americas Rugby Championship is given added significance as it officially becomes part of World Cup qualification starting in 2021. New Zealand clinches the Women’s Super Series title in San Diego the following day. During the tournament the USA beats Canada for the first time since 2015.

July 28 – Argentina and Canada win Pan Am Gold in the men’s and women’s brackets respectively. The significance of the tournament has lessened in recent years with the re-introduction of rugby to the Olympics. On the same day, Bolivia played their first ever match against a Salta XV. They would play a first ever test in September against Paraguay.

August 8 – World Rugby officially confirms that the USA’s stop on the Men’s Sevens Series is moving to Los Angeles. Also confirmed is the expansion of the Women’s Sevens Series to a record eight tournaments, with six stops to be combined men’s and women’s events.

August 10 – Argentina are throttled by South Africa in Salta as the Springboks claimed the Rugby Championship title. In another tournament decider, Japan completed a perfect Pacific Nations Cup tournament by defeating the USA in Suva. Canada’s PNC ended without a win as they fell short against Tonga the day before.

August 26 – Rugby Belize are accepted as associate members by Rugby Americas North and World Rugby. They are the 19th nation under the RAN banner and reached the achievement only four years after establishing their national governing body.

August 31 – Colombia repeat as Americas Rugby Challenge winners by defeating Paraguay in Medellín. It was a poor tournament for Yakares, who lost to Mexico for the first time ever in what was the greatest ever international result for Las Serpientes.

September 8 – The USA are the last of the Americas quartet to name their final World Cup squad. Argentina, Canada, and Uruguay had preceded them. The Eagles and Teros were largely as expected, but there was considerable debate surrounding both the Argentine and Canadian selection.

September 13 – Uruguay have their first Hall of Famer as Diego Ormaechea is one of six players announced by World Rugby to be inducted in 2019. He is the 10th individual from the Americas to earn the honor since the Hall’s inception in 2005.

September 20 – The Rugby World Cup kicks off in Japan with the host nation defeating Russia. Argentina fall to France the next day, with Canada and the USA also losing their first matches. Uruguay are the jewel in the Americas crown, stunning Fiji at Kamaishi in one of the biggest upsets of the year.

September 28 – The world watches in awe as Japan defeats Ireland in another enormous upset. On the same day Julián Montoya’s hat trick leads Argentina over Tonga. Meanwhile the tournament is already over for injured Canadian pair Nick Blevins and Ben LeSage, with David Ainu’u and John Quill departing from the USA squad.

October 6 – Amidst World Cup mania, the new World Sevens Series quietly begins in Glendale with the host Women’s Eagles taking the title. In Japan, the tournament is effectively over for Argentina as they flop against England while Uruguay earns credit for a respectable showing against Australia.

October 13 – Japan earn a spot in the Quarter Finals for the first time by defeating Scotland in an emotional match at Yokohama, one day after Typhoon Hagibis crashed into the country. Canada’s anticipated match against Namibia was canceled. The USA bowed out winless after defeat against Tonga, and Uruguay showed class in defeat against Wales.

October 29 – The big year for Uruguayan rugby continues as the national union is given a seat on the World Rugby Council. A couple weeks later they secure highly regarded coach Esteban Meneses through the 2023 World Cup, ending speculation he could move elsewhere.

November 2 – South Africa are crowned World Cup Champions for a third time. They defeat a disappointing England, who had entered as favorites following their superb win over New Zealand in the Semi Finals. The All Blacks outclass Wales to win the Bronze Final.

November 20 – The Barbarians play in South America for the first time, defeating Brazil at São Paulo. Tyler Ardron becomes the first Canadian to captain the Baa-Baas in an international fixture.

November 24 – Canada defeats the USA to sweep the Can-Am Series in San Diego. Three North Americans are selected to represent the Women’s Barbarians in the double-header against Wales in Cardiff the following weekend.

November 27 – USA Rugby confirms that they are in poor financial health after it’s revealed that expenditures for high performance programs in 2019 went way over budget. Governance reform is immediately tabled with a new structure intended to be in place early in 2020.

November 29 – After months of build-up, South American rugby officially confirms its first professional league. The Super Liga America de Rugby is launched in Montevideo with five teams to play in the inaugural 2020 season, a sixth from Colombia playing two exhibition matches before joining in 2021.

December 11 – Major League Rugby’s expansion plans are unveiled in New Orleans. New commissioner George Killebrew confirms that Dallas and Los Angeles will begin competing in 2021, with further cities in discussion for 2022. Among those is Las Vegas, where five regular season games will be hosted in 2020.

December 17 – World Rugby confirms the creation of the ‘Sevens Challenge Series‘, a development circuit that will have stops in Chile and Uruguay. Meanwhile North Americas women compete well to close the year in Dubai and Cape Town while the men struggle to start the season.

December 18 – Enter the Beast! The biggest name to sign on for the new Major League Rugby season is revealed. World Champion prop Tendai Mtawarira turns down lucrative offers from Europe to sign for expansion side Old Glory DC.