Current season, competition or edition: 2019 World Rugby Nations Cup | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2006 |
| No. of teams | 4 |
| Country | 2018 Teams Argentina XV Emerging Italy Fiji Warriors Uruguay |
| Most recent champion | Uruguay (2019) |
TheNations Cup is arugby union competition that was first held in 2006 atEstádio Universitário inLisbon withArgentina A,Italy A,Portugal andRussia taking part. The tournament is part of theInternational Rugby Board's US $50 million Strategic Investment programme, which also includes thePacific Nations Cup, thePacific Rugby Cup, and theAmericas Rugby Championship (as well as the ARC's predecessor, theNorth America 4).
The Nations Cup is aimed at providing more competition for tier one A sides, as well as offering opportunities for second and third-tier nations such asPortugal,Russia,Namibia,Uruguay,Georgia andRomania.[1] The Nations Cup is an important tournament for both Italy and Argentina; at the time of the inaugural competition in2006, the two sides combined had only nine players who did not play in their respective domestic competitions. The inaugural tournament was won byArgentina A.
The Nations Cup was expanded in2007, with six teams instead of four. Argentina A andItaly A returned, along withNamibia,Georgia,Romania and theEmerging Springboks. This partly allowed Namibia, Georgia, and Romania to warm up for the2007 Rugby World Cup. Originally scheduled to take place in the Tineretului Stadium,Bucharest,Romania,[2] in the event the matches took place at the city'sStadionul Arcul de Triumf.[3] TheEmerging Springboks were crowned champions, and the Tournament has remained at Arcul de Triumf since then.
In2008, Argentina A, soon to be rechristened asArgentina Jaguars, left the tournament to play in theChurchill Cup,Namibia also withdrew.Uruguay andRussia took their places. TheEmerging Springboks were crowned champions with a 100% record for the second time.
2009 saw the addition ofScotland A andFrance A to the tournament at the expense of the Emerging Springboks and Georgia, which both had other commitments that year. The Emerging Springboks played theBritish & Irish Lions during the Lions'tour of South Africa, while Georgia accepted an invitation to the Churchill Cup. Scotland A won that year's edition.
For the2010 edition, Romania and defending champions Scotland A returned from 2009, as did Italy A. France A, Russia, and Uruguay instead played in the2010 Churchill Cup. Georgia, returning after a one-year absence, and Namibia and Argentina Jaguars, returning for the first time since 2007, took their places. Namibia emerged as the winner.
The2011 edition effectively served as a2011 Rugby World Cup warm-up for host Romania, defending Nations Cup champion Namibia, and Georgia. The Argentina Jaguars also returned from the 2010 edition. Portugal returned for the first time since the inaugural edition in 2006. South Africa made their first appearance since 2008 a successful one, with a team billed as the "South African Kings" — in reality, theSouthern Kings, the country's planned futureSuper Rugby franchise — winning the event.
Southern Kings did not return to defend their title in2012, nor did Namibia or Georgia return to take part. Instead, Italy A (missing for a year) and Russia and Uruguay (missing for two years) reappeared. Host nation Romania won for the first time in the competition's history. They retained the title in2013, this time in a four-team round-robin.
Emerging Ireland made their first appearance in the competition in2014, along with Uruguay, Russia, and host Romania. This edition is important preparation for the2015 Rugby World Cup.[4]
Namibia made its first appearance since 2011 in 2015 as it began preparing for the2015 Rugby World Cup. They were joined by Spain, who debuted in the tournament, and the Argentina Jaguars, coached by Argentina's most capped and top point scorerFelipe Contepomi.
The teams that participated in the IRB Nations Cup and their finishing positions are as follows:
| Team | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Georgia | - | 3rd | 2nd | - | 5th | 2nd | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 Namibia | - | 6th | - | - | 1st | 4th | - | - | - | 4th | 3rd | 4th | - | 4th |
 Portugal | 4th | - | - | - | - | 6th | 6th | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 Romania | - | 4th | 3rd | 4th | 2nd | 5th | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | - | - | - |
 Russia | 3rd | - | 6th | 5th | - | - | 5th | 4th | 4th | - | - | 2nd | - | 2nd |
 Spain | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3rd | 6th | 5th | - | - |
| Uruguay | - | - | 5th | 6th | - | - | 4th | - | 3rd | - | 5th | 1st | 1st | 1st |
| Argentina Jaguars / XV | 1st | 2nd | - | - | 4th | 3rd | 2nd | 3rd | - | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | 3rd |
| Fiji Warriors | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4th | - |
 France A | - | - | - | 3rd | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 Emerging Ireland | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1st | - | - | - | - | - |
| Italy A / Emerging Italy | 2nd | 5th | 4th | 2nd | 3rd | - | 3rd | 2nd | - | - | 4th | 6th | 3rd | - |
 Scotland A | - | - | - | 1st | 6th | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 South Africa A | - | 1st | 1st | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| South African Kings | - | - | - | - | - | 1st | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Point scorers[edit]Last updated: 21 June 2015 | Try scorers[edit]Last updated: 21 June 2015 |
