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The July test series have come to a close – a busy and somewhat hectic time for rugby fans as there is almost too much test rugby too keep up with. Almost… but not quite. Of course, you already have multiple tabs open on your desktop with the highlights of all the games we’re about to discuss loaded and ready to go. Even so, in the name of saving you time, here’s what happened in 5 games you’re probably yet to watch:
Romania’s nightmarish tour of south America finally came to an end on Friday as they were blown away by the Argentina XV (Los Pumas’ B team) 52-14. The tourists were down 33-7 at half time and 3 more tries after the break from the Argentines finished them off.
The result means Romania have now conceded 25 tries in their last 3 test matches, scoring just 4 of their own. There will be stories told of player unavailability but, ultimately, this has been humiliating for the team that finished 3rd in rugby Europe this season. It is difficult to imagine they have taken any positives from this tour.
We must also bare in mind that it was somewhat impressive Argentina managed to field a B team at all this weekend as a heavily rotated Los Pumas first team took on Uruguay 24 hours later, also scoring 52 points and conceding just 17. Some will say that this result represents progress for the Uruguayans compared to last year when they lost the same fixture 79-5, but that would ignore the fact that in this game Argentina had 4 tries ruled out by the TMO, got a red card in the 51st minute and were playing with a much weaker starting line-up.
The only Argentine name Europeans may know from the Romania game would be Benetton’s Thomas Gallo, who scored a try right on half time. Other than that, it was all Super Rugby Americas players. Argentina’s goal this July was to create depth and whilst they should be very disappointed with their results against England (or the Red Roses men, as some outlets have started calling them) Contepomi must be satisfied with how his player pool is expanding.
Elsewhere in Latin America, Chile defeated a stubborn Brazil 35-21 in the first of their two-legged play-off fixtures to decide World Cup qualification. Brazil actually won the 2nd half 14-10, a demonstration of their immense progress in recent times. An expected win for Chile in the 2nd leg will see them face Uruguay for the automatic World Cup spot.
Retaining the Spanish language but moving from the bottom of the Americas to the top, Spain travelled to Canada in what many expected to be a straightforward win for Europe’s 2nd best men’s team. However, having lead 11-6 at half time, the Spanish soon found themselves teetering on the brink of a shock defeat.
Canada could and maybe should have beaten Belgium the previous week but were let down but goal kicking. This week, fullback Nelson was back in the starting team and took the tee off ailing fly half Coats. Two 1st half penalties followed by nailed conversion kicks of number 8 Oworu’s quick-fire double had them two scores ahead on 50 minutes.
However, things then started to go wrong. Spain’s set piece dominance started to show and yellow card for loosehead prop Martinez on the 51st minutes was followed by a penalty try for Spain and a further yellow card for Martinez’s replacement, Prior. And yet, with the clock in the red, Canada were still in the lead thanks to a 3rd penalty from Nelson. Local fans were therefore left furious when, in the 81st minute, the referee awarded Spain a dubious breakdown penalty, allowing their star man Lopez Bontempo to knock over 3 points and steal the victory at the death. 23-24 the final score.
Spain will breathe a sigh of relief and go home happy with 2 for 2 on their north American tour. Canada, despite the losses, with take heart from improved performances and target their huge game against the USA, a World Cup qualification play-off in all but name – knowing they pushed Spain harder than their opponents. USA themselves went down 5-40 to England in a lightning interrupted game.
Spain’s women’s team was also in action this weekend as they made the long trip to face Japan in a World Cup warm-up. This was a fascinating matchup as Spain topped WXV3 last year whilst Japan finished bottom of WXV2, meaning they should be of a similar quality.
So it proved, the lead swung back and forth a pulsating encounter. Japan pulled out a 10 point lead by the 20th minute, but Spain responded with a score of their own, only for Japan fly half Otsuka to take her team back to a 2 score lead with a sweetly struck penalty.
Spain then came into the 2nd half on fire and stormed into the lead by 60 minutes with two converted tries putting them 6 points ahead. Japan, however, rallied brilliantly and replacement hooker Taniguchi score a stunning hattrick in just 15 minutes - Japan’s forwards too much for Spain to handle. A final score of 32-19 even with Japan missing 3 conversions.
It was a statement result for Japan who also beat USA earlier this year. These two will meet again in Pool C of the world cup along with New Zealand and Ireland. Meanwhile, Spain’s rugby Europe and WXV3 rivals Netherland went down 22-0 to Brazil, who will be one pool along in Pool D. It rounds off what has been a difficult summer to swallow for Rugby Europe against Americas opposition.
Elsewhere in the women’s World Cup warm-ups, USA played Fiji in front of a record crowd of over 15,000 fans at Audi Field in Washington DC. The women beat the lightning storms that disrupted the men to deliver a thrilling match. The Eagles look set to run away with it at one point only for Fijiana to fight back and give them a real scare. 31-24 the final score.
Fiji are now lead by former Wales coach Ioan Cunningham but his impact on the team is still hard to judge because their opposition are so varied. Meanwhile, USA should ideally be further along than they currently are and are still far too reliant on talismanic inside centre Alev Kelter, who always seems to be their top performer.
Outside her, they are still grappling with how to get the best out of social media sensation Ilona Maher, who’s on field performances are solid but unspectacular. When she stands amongst her teammates her physical advantages are striking, but the team still hasn’t found a way to maximise her in attack. Her place in the line-up looks to be locked in, so the coaches need to think hard about how to give this theoretically dynamite centre partnership some form of chemistry.
Finally, we have another team qualified for the men’s world cup in 2027: Zimbabwe defeat Namibia 30-28 to retain the Rugby Africa crown and earn the automatic spot for Africa. The game was an absolute thriller as Zimbabwe looked to have sewn it up mid way through the 2nd half only for Namibia to score straight off the restart. A late penalty attempt from their marksman Swanepoel had Zimbabwean hearts racing, but it drifted wide. The game was finally won with a scrum penalty, sparking jubilation and ecstatic celebration in the stands.
Namibia had dominated rugby Africa for a decade and been ever present at world cups since 1999, but off field dramas blighted their qualification process. Their head coach had resigned just days from the start of the Rugby Africa Cup, with Director of Rugby Jacques Burger stepping in to lead the team. The now face the long road of the play-offs to get to Australia in 2027, with a victory with the UAE this weekend needed to secure a place in the final qualification tournament.
2027 will be Zimbabwe’s 3rd men’s world cup, having attended the initial event in 1987 and the 2nd in 1991. If you dig deeper into the history books, you will find Zimbabwe have a storied and far-reaching rugby heritage. Back when they were known as Rhodesia, they regularly hosted the British & Irish Lions right up until the 1970s, even beating them once and drawing with them on another occasion.
Their victories over modern Tier 1 nations include Italy, Argentina and even a 1949 win over the New Zealand All Blacks! Thanks to their successful Rugby Africa defence they are now on 13 wins in a row - the most of any test side!