Current season, competition or edition: 2019 Americas Rugby Championship | |
 | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2009; 17 years ago (2009) (reinaugurated 2016; 10 years ago (2016)) |
| No. of teams | 6 |
| Country |  Argentina XV Brazil Canada Chile United States Uruguay |
| Most recent champions | Argentina XV (6th title) |
| Most titles | Argentina XV (6 titles) |
TheAmericas Rugby Championship, often informally called theAmericas' Six Nations, was an annual international rugby tournament between six North and South American nations:Argentina,Brazil,Canada,Chile, theUnited States andUruguay.[1]
The original Americas Rugby Championship (organised byWorld Rugby) was inaugurated in 2009, when various 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 reform 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 was based on the structure of the EuropeanSix 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 theSudamérica–RAN region had been thePARA Pan American Championship, which had ceased after its 2003 edition. World Rugby granted all matches with test match status, with caps awarded for every match, with the exception of those involving the Argentina XV side.[3]
Originally formed in 2009 by World Rugby (then known as the International Rugby Board) to replace theNorth America 4 Series, was created to give the newly formed Canadian regions more competitive matches against strong opposition from the second teams of theUnited States andArgentina. The winner of the inauguralCanadian Rugby Championship,BC Bears, went on to compete on the international stage, playing the winner of the international semi-final match betweenUSA Select XV andArgentina Jaguars. The Argentina Jaguars defeated the BC Bears 35–11 in the final to capture the tournament's first title.[4]
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 fromTonga, and aCanada Selects side made up of the top players in the2010 CRC season.[5] Each team played each other once in around-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 the2011 Rugby World Cup. The tournament kept the same format as 2010, however the national side ofUruguay joined the tournament replacing Tonga A, though in 2014, Uruguay sent their second teamCharrúas XV. Argentina Jaguars went on to win every tournament between 2012 and 2014.
The tournament was not held in 2015 because of the2015 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 was held in February and March, concurrently with the EuropeanSix Nations Championship. Like the European championship, teams played both home and away, whereas players from European clubs will be available.[7]
A second competition, theAmericas 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 1.[8]
The new competition brought togetherRugby Americas North (RAN) andSudamérica 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 ofColombia were joined by Sudamérica Rugby rivalsParaguay.Guyana andMexico represented Rugby Americas North.[8]
Played annually, the format of the Championship was simple: each team played 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 picked up 4 points and 2 for a draw. The team with the most points at the end won the title. Unlike previous ARC, overseas based players were available for selection, while Argentina mainly selected provincial and domestic players that were not part of theirSuper RugbyJaguares side.
BC Bears: 2009Ontario Blues: 2009Prairie Wolf Pack: 2009The Rock: 2009
Tonga A: 2010 Argentina Jaguars: 2009–2014 USA Selects 2009–2014 Canada A: 2009–2014| Year | Teams | Champions | Games played | Games won | Games drawn | Games lost | Points for | Points against | Points difference | Bonus points | Table points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 6 | Argentina Jaguars | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 92 | 21 | +71 | N/A | |
| 2010 | 4 | Argentina Jaguars | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 122 | 46 | +76 | 2 | 14 |
| 2012 | 4 | Argentina Jaguars | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 88 | 22 | +66 | 1 | 13 |
| 2013 | 4 | Argentina Jaguars | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 84 | 23 | +61 | 2 | 14 |
| 2014 | 4 | Argentina Jaguars | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 111 | 32 | +79 | 3 | 15 |
| 2016 | 6 | Argentina XV | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 207 | 99 | +108 | 4 | 22 |
| 2017 | 6 | United States | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 215 | 96 | +119 | 4 | 22 |
| 2018 | 6 | United States | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 197 | 68 | +129 | 4 | 24 |
| 2019 | 6 | Argentina XV | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 258 | 60 | +198 | 5 | 25 |
| 2020 | Cancelled due toCOVID-19 pandemic | ||||||||||
Updated to after the2019 edition
| 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 Jaguars | Round Robin | United States | |
| 2017 | Various (3/2 home games, 2/3 away games) | United States | Round Robin | Argentina Jaguars | |
| 2018 | Various (3/2 home games, 2/3 away games) | United States | Round Robin | Argentina Jaguars | |
| 2019 | Various (3/2 home games, 2/3 away games) | Argentina Jaguars | Round Robin | Uruguay | |
| 2020 | Cancelled due toCOVID-19 pandemic | ||||
| Nation | Appearances | Games | Wins | Draws | Losses | Best result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina XV (Jaguars) | 9 | 34 | 31 | 2 | 1 | Champions: (7) 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2019 |
| Uruguay | 7 | 26 | 14 | 15 | Runner-up: 2019 | |
| United States | 4 | 20 | 14 | 2 | 4 | Champions: 2017, 2018 |
| Canada | 4 | 20 | 7 | 13 | 3rd place: 2016 | |
| Brazil | 4 | 20 | 6 | 14 | 4th place: 2017, 2019 | |
| Chile | 4 | 20 | 1 | 19 | 6th place: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 | |
| USA Selects | 5 | 14 | 4 | 10 | Runner-up: 2013, 2014 | |
| Canada A (Selects) | 4 | 12 | 6 | 6 | Runner-up: 2010 & 2012 | |
| Tonga A | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4th place: 2010 | |
| BC Bears | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | Runner-up: 2009 | |
| Ontario Blues | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3rd place: 2009 | |
| Prairie Wolf Pack | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6th place: 2009 | |
| The Rock | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5th place: 2009 |
Updated to after2019 Americas Rugby Championship
| Nation | Years represented | Champions | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 9 | 7 | 2 |
| Brazil | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Canada | 9 | 0 | 3 |
| Chile | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Tonga | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| United States | 9 | 2 | 3 |
| Uruguay | 7 | 0 | 1 |
Updated to after2019 Americas Rugby Championship
