Americas Rugby Championship

The Americas Rugby Championship, often informally called the Americas' Six Nations, is an annual international rugby tournament between six North and South American nations: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the United States and Uruguay.[1] Originally competed by various interlocking combinations of club, second-tier national and top national sides, the current (since 2016) international tournament has the top national sides competing (though Argentina, to date, sends its second-tier team). The current format provides these top national teams with additional test matches to be counted in the World Rugby Rankings.

Americas Rugby Championship
Current season, competition or edition:
2019 Americas Rugby Championship
SportRugby union
Founded2009
(reinaugurated 2016)
No. of teams6
Country Argentina XV
 Brazil
 Canada
 Chile
 United States
 Uruguay
Most recent
champion(s)		 Argentina XV
(6th title)
Most titles Argentina XV
(6 titles)

The original Americas Rugby Championship (organised by World Rugby) was inaugurated in 2009, when varying combinations of national, regional and development teams from North and South America competed for the title. In 2015, it was announced that from 2016, the competition would re-form under the guidance of the Americas Rugby Association and the respective unions, to provide the six national sides with additional rankings tests annually. The updated format is based on the structure of the European Six Nations Championship, coinciding with each other in February and March of each year.[2] Prior to this, the last competitive tournament to be held across the Sudamérica–RAN region had been the PARA Pan American Championship, which had ceased after its 2003 edition. World Rugby has granted all matches with test match status, with caps awarded for every match, though matches against the Argentina XV (rather than the top Argentina national squad) will not affect the World Rugby Rankings.[3]

History

First conception

Originally formed in 2009 by World Rugby (then known as the International Rugby Board) to replace the North America 4 Series, was created to give the newly formed Canadian regions more competitive matches against strong opposition from the second teams of the United States and Argentina. The winner of the inaugural Canadian Rugby Championship, BC Bears, went on to compete on the international stage, playing the winner of the international semi-final match between USA Select XV and Argentina Jaguars. The Argentina Jaguars defeated the BC Bears 35–11 in the final to capture the tournament's first title.[4]

Second and third editions

In 2010, the tournament was cut from 6 to 4 teams, scrapping the Canadian Division part of the tournament to create a solely international based tournament for development sides. The USA Select XV and Argentina Jaguars were joined by the second team from Tonga, and a Canada Selects side made up of the top players in the 2010 CRC season.[5] Each team played each other once in a round-robin format, gaining 4 points for a win, with the team on the most points at the end winning the title.[6]

The tournament returned in 2012, having not taken place in 2011 due to the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The tournament kept the same format as 2010, however the national side of Uruguay joined the tournament replacing Tonga A, though in 2014, Uruguay sent their second team Charrúas XV. Argentina Jaguars went on to win every tournament between 2012 and 2014.

Current conception

The tournament was not held in 2015 because of the 2015 Rugby World Cup. In 2016, the tournament was relaunched and expanded to six teams with the inclusion of Brazil and Chile. Unlike the previous single-site tournament featuring lesser sides, the new tournament will be held in February and March, concurrently with the European Six Nations Championship. Like the European championship, teams will play both home and away, whereas players from European clubs will be available.[7]

Americas Rugby Challenge

A second competition, the Americas Rugby Challenge or ARCh was confirmed in August 2018, to be played in August and September. The inaugural competition took place at the Estadio Cincuentenario in Medellín, Colombia from August 24 to September 01.[8]

The new competition brought together Rugby Americas North (RAN) and Sudamérica Rugby, following the example of the Americas Rugby Championship, The Americas Rugby Challenge is officially the ‘B’ competition for the ARC.

As with the Americas Rugby Championship, the new Americas Rugby Challenge saw all competing countries playing against each other. The first edition of the competition was a Four Nations tournament with Rugby Americas North and Sudamérica Rugby both having two representatives each. [9]

The host nation of Colombia were joined by Sudamérica Rugby rivals Paraguay. Guyana and Mexico represented Rugby Americas North.[8]

Format

Played annually, the format of the Championship is simple: each team plays every other team once in a round-robin format, making for a total of 15 matches played across the tournament. For each win, a team picks up 4 points and 2 for a draw. The team with the most points at the end wins the title. Unlike previous ARC, overseas based players are available for selection, while Argentina will mainly only select provincial and domestic players that are not part of their Super Rugby Jaguares side.

Teams

Current teams

Past teams

Previous winners
Year Teams Champions Games
played		 Games
won		 Games
drawn		 Games
lost		 Points
for		 Points
against		 Points
difference		 Bonus
points		 Table
points
20096  Argentina JaguarsNA
20104  Argentina Jaguars330012246+76214
20124  Argentina Jaguars33008822+66113
20134  Argentina Jaguars33008423+61214
20144  Argentina Jaguars330011132+79315
20166  Argentina XV541020799+108422
20176  United States541021596+119422
20186  United States550019768+129424
20196  Argentina XV550025860+198525

Updated to after the 2019 edition

Past results
First Conception
Season Stadium Location Champion Score Runner-up
2009 Fletcher's Fields Markham, Ontario, Canada  Argentina Jaguars 35–11 BC Bears
2010 Estadio Olímpico Chateau Carreras Córdoba, Argentina  Argentina Jaguars Round Robin  Canada A
2012 Westhills Stadium Langford, British Columbia, Canada  Argentina Jaguars Round Robin  Canada A
2013 Westhills Stadium Langford, British Columbia, Canada  Argentina Jaguars Round Robin  USA Selects
2014 Westhills Stadium Langford, British Columbia, Canada  Argentina Jaguars Round Robin  USA Selects
Second Conception
Season Stadium Location Champion Score Runner-up
2016 Various (3/2 home games, 2/3 away games)  Argentina XV Round Robin  United States
2017 Various (3/2 home games, 2/3 away games)  United States Round Robin  Argentina XV
2018 Various (3/2 home games, 2/3 away games)  United States Round Robin  Argentina XV
2019 Various (3/2 home games, 2/3 away games)  Argentina XV Round Robin  Uruguay

All-time results table
Nation Appearances Games Wins Draws Losses Best result
 Argentina XV (Jaguars)9343121Champions: (7) 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2019
 Uruguay7261415Runner-up: 2019
 United States4201424Champions: 2017, 2018
 Canada4207133rd place: 2016
 Brazil4206144th place: 2017, 2019
 Chile4201196th place: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
 USA Selects514410Runner-up: 2013, 2014
 Canada A (Selects)41266Runner-up: 2010 & 2012
 Tonga A13034th place: 2010
BC Bears1541Runner-up: 2009
Ontario Blues15233rd place: 2009
Prairie Wolf Pack13126th place: 2009
The Rock13125th place: 2009

Updated to after 2019 Americas Rugby Championship

Results by nation
Nation Years represented Champions Runner-up
Argentina972
Brazil400
Canada903
Chile400
Tonga100
United States923
Uruguay701

Updated to after 2019 Americas Rugby Championship

gollark: https://status.osmarks.net/, of course.
gollark: In the last minute, yes.
gollark: Tweaks are ongoing.
gollark: Um, I think you're on the previous line, or I broke things.
gollark: FEAR it.

References
  1. "Americas Six Nations to Start in February - Americas Rugby News". Americas Rugby News. September 4, 2015. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  2. "Inaugural Americas Rugby Championship schedule released, U.S. venues announced". USA Rugby. Archived from the original on 2016-01-05. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
  3. Wins would serve Uruguay and Chile well in Americas Rugby Championship
  4. JAGUARS WIN INAUGURAL ARC TITLE
  5. ARC SET TO KICK-OFF TUESDAY NIGHT IN ARGENTINA
  6. 2010 ARC A SUCCESS AHEAD OF FINAL DAY
  7. Rugby World’s guide to the Americas Rugby Championship
  8. Historic Americas Rugby Challenge Confirmed for August and September, from americasrugbynews.com
  9. World Rugby announces ARCh teams and logo
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.