Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. Rugby is simply based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is played between two teams of 15 players each, using an oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field called a pitch. The field has H-shaped goalposts at both ends.
The Rugby Championship is an international rugby union competition contested annually by Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. These are the four highest ranked national teams in the Southern Hemisphere; the Six Nations is a similar tournament in the Northern Hemisphere.
World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rugby competitions, such as the World Rugby Sevens Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens, the World Under 20 Championship, and the Pacific Nations Cup.
The Argentina national rugby union team represents Argentina in men's international rugby union; it is organised by the Argentine Rugby Union. Nicknamed the Pumas, they play in sky blue and white jerseys. They are ranked 7th in the world by World Rugby, making them the highest-ranked nation in the Americas.
The Pacific Nations Cup is an international rugby union competition held between three Pacific states: Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. The 2019 edition of the tournament also included the national teams of Canada, Japan and United States. First held in 2006, the tournament is intended to strengthen the Tier 2 rugby teams by providing competitive test matches in a tournament format.
Rugby union in the United States is played at youth, high school, college, amateur, professional, and international levels and governed by USA Rugby. There were over 125,000 players registered with USA Rugby as of 2016. Over 2,500 rugby union clubs exist around the country, including those who are part of college rugby. Professional club competition has existed as Major League Rugby (MLR) since 2017.
The Rugby World Cup host nation is selected by World Rugby at a meeting six years before each tournament. Each of the Rugby World Cups from 1987 to 2015 were hosted by countries that are considered the traditional powers in World Rugby. The first non Rugby Championship or Six Nations country to host a Rugby World Cup was Japan in 2019, after failed bids for the 2011 and 2015 tournaments.
North America 4, also known as IRB North America 4, was a North American rugby union competition launched in 2006. The competition was contested between two newly formed representative teams from each of Canada and the United States. The competition was funded by the International Rugby Board (IRB), and was part of their three-year global strategic investment programme which was designed to increase the competitiveness of international rugby union in Canada and the United States. The tournament was intended to act as a pathway to more exposure of domestic players and the national sides.
The Nations Cup is a rugby union competition that was first held in 2006 at Estádio Universitário in Lisbon with Argentina A, Italy A, Portugal and Russia taking part. The tournament is part of the International Rugby Board's US $50 million Strategic Investment programme, which also includes the Pacific Nations Cup, the Pacific Rugby Cup and the Americas Rugby Championship.
Rugby union in Argentina is a hugely popular team sport. The first rugby match played in the country dates back to 1873, as the game was introduced by the British. The Argentina national team, sometimes referred to as the Pumas, have competed at the Rugby World Cup, and are considered a tier one nation by the sport's governing body, World Rugby.
Argentina XV, formerly known as the Jaguares, are the second national rugby union team in Argentina, after the full national side, the Pumas.
The Americas Rugby Championship, often informally called the Americas' Six Nations, was an annual international rugby tournament between six North and South American nations: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the United States and Uruguay. Originally competed by various interlocking combinations of club, second-tier national and top national sides, the current international tournament has the top national sides competing. The current format provides these top national teams with additional test matches to be counted in the World Rugby Rankings.
The 2009 IRB Nations Cup was the fourth edition of the international rugby union tournament, a competition created by the International Rugby Board. It pits the "A" Teams of the stronger rugby nations against some of the Tier 2 and 3 nations.
The 2008 IRB Nations Cup was the third edition of the international rugby union tournament, a competition created by the International Rugby Board. It pits the "A" Teams of the stronger rugby nations against some of the Tier 2 and 3 nations.
The 2007 IRB Nations Cup is the second edition of the international rugby union tournament, a competition created by the International Rugby Board. It pits the "A" Teams of the stronger rugby nations against some of the Tier 2 and 3 nations.
The 2010 IRB Nations Cup was the fifth edition of the international rugby union tournament, a competition created by the International Rugby Board. It pits the "A" Teams of the stronger rugby nations against some of the Tier 2 and 3 nations.
The 2011 IRB Nations Cup was the sixth edition of the international rugby union tournament, a competition created by the International Rugby Board. It pits the "A" Teams of the stronger rugby nations against some Tier 2 and 3 nations.
The 2012 IRB Nations Cup was the seventh edition of the international rugby union tournament, a competition created by the International Rugby Board. It pitted the "A" Teams of the stronger rugby nations against the Tier 2 (Romania) and Tier 3 nations. And Uruguay played against Romania, Russia and Portugal.
The 2013 mid-year rugby union tests were international rugby union matches that were played in June 2013, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere.
The 2013 IRB Nations Cup was the eighth edition of the international rugby union tournament, a competition created by the International Rugby Board. For the seventh time in a row, it was held in Bucharest, Romania. It was played between 8 June and 16 June and ran alongside the 2013 IRB Tbilisi Cup in Georgia. All fixtures were played at the 5,000 capacity Stadionul Naţional de Rugby, the Home stadium for Hosts Romania.
Argentina XV 
Italy A 
Portugal 
Russia 