Up and Under

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

Brazil Confirm Busy August Schedule
Brazil will have a busy month of international competition in August. Os Tupis are to tour two different South Ameican countries and play a total of four matches against three different teams. Brazil will travel to Chile to play two matches against the Rugby World Cup 2023 qualified opponent. From there will be a trip to Barranquilla to face Colombia and Paraguay in a Tri Nations tournament.

Colombia Open Series with Win over Panthers
Los Tucanes held on to beat the USA South Panthers in Barranquilla on Wednesday. The match was the first of a two match series between Colombia’s test team and the visiting USA South Panthers. Los Tucanes held an 18-14 half-time lead. It proved to be just enough for victory. Points were extremely rare in the second half; in fact, there was only one score, that being a penalty to the USA South Panthers. Colombia won 18-17.

USA South Recover in Game Two
The USA South Panthers got even against Colombia on Saturday in Barranquilla. The visitors from North America finished 25-16 winners. The USA South Panthers were on top in game two; they converted a 18-16 half-time lead into a nine point victory. The visitors enjoyed themselves on the tour. Colombia will likely be a top option for the USA South in the future.

International u20 Rugby returns in Canada
Rugby Canada will host a Men’s u20 series at the University of Guelph starting next week. Chile, Uruguay, and Zimbabwe will travel to Ontario for a round-robin format between August 13 and 23. It’s the first international rugby played by the u20s since early 2020. The World Rugby u20 Trophy was cancelled for three consecutive years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Professional look to Canada u20 roster
Head Coach Adam Roberts will have five overseas-based players and three from Major League Rugby at his disposal for the upcoming u20 series in Guelph. It’s Canada’s first men’s u20 side since the tour to Portugal over two years ago. Collegiate powerhouse UBC provides the most players with six on the roster.

Chile on the radar for the World Cup 
Los Cóndores heroics in the Americas’ Rugby World Cup Qualifiers made headlines inside Chile and abroad. Chile made history by qualifying for a first Rugby World Cup and giving South America a record three teams in a World Cup. Attention is now turning to the make-up of the roster. ARN’s first attempt at doing so noted that there is depth across the park. High Performance has transformed Chile.

 

UNDER

Argentina blow half-time lead to lose big against Australia
Australia were 41-26 winners over Argentina at the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas on Saturday. A crowd of 31,342 in Mendoza saw what appeared to be a home win for Los Pumas, only for a strong Wallabies response to catch Argentina flat. Argentina’s 19-10 half-time lead and the second-half lead of 26-17 were insufficient. Los Pumas conceded a staggering 31 points in the second half.

Nicolás Sánchez departs Rugby Championship injured
Veteran fly half Nicolás Sánchez is officially out of the roster. The Stade Français play-maker was injured in the opening test match against Scotland. His recovery has not gone as smoothly as had been anticipated. He will miss the San Juan fixture and the two matches against the All Blacks in New Zealand. Benjamín Urdapilleta is also out. Tomás Albornoz debuted, as the understudy to Santiago Carreras ,on Saturday.

Argentine-Italian World Cup players were unqualified
In an alarming discovery this past week it was revealed that Martín Castrogiovanni and Luciano Orquera played 119 and 48 caps respectively for Italy despite not being eligible. Both played in Rugby World Cups. The players are both from Argentina and played for Italy on the basis that they both had grandparents from the country. Recent evidence, however, indicates that both became naturalized Italian citizens through their great-grandparents, which is not sufficient for World Rugby eligibility.

World Rugby Governance and Application of Eligibility Laws
There is a scandal unfolding now that World Rugby could not have imagined. Spain’s RWC 2023 disqualification was consistent with Romania’s at RWC 2019. However, Wales and Scotland were free to play in RWC 2003 and did not have to qualify despite players not being eligible at RWC 1999. Castrogiovanni, Orquera, and Carlo del Fava were not eligible for Italy when selected on ancestry. Ineligible players therefore appeared in qualifiers for the 2003 and 2007 World Cups. Once again World Rugby’s regulations have not been applied consistently.