The Rugby Championship is an international rugby union competition contested annually by Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Prior to the 2012 tournament, when Argentina joined, it was known as the Tri Nations. These are the four highest ranked national teams in the Southern Hemisphere, the Six Nations is a similar tournament in the Northern Hemisphere. The competition is administered by SANZAAR, a consortium consisting of four national governing bodies: the South African Rugby Union, New Zealand Rugby Union, Rugby Australia and the Argentine Rugby Union The inaugural Tri Nations tournament was in 1996, and was won by New Zealand – known as the All Blacks. South Africa won their first title in 1998, and Australia their first in 2000. Following the last Tri Nations tournament in 2011, New Zealand had won ten championships, with South Africa and Australia on three titles each. The first Rugby Championship was won by New Zealand, who won all six of their matches.
Super Rugby is a professional men's rugby union international club competition involving teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hemisphere competitions dating back to the South Pacific Championship in 1986, with teams from a number of southern nations, the Super Rugby started as the Super 12 in the 1996 season with 12 teams from 3 nations: Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The Super 12 was established by SANZAAR after the sport became professional in 1995. With the top players from nations that represent 16 of the 24 top-three finishes in the history of the Rugby World Cup, the competition is widely regarded as rugby union's toughest provincial competition.
The Argentina national rugby union team represents Argentina in men's international rugby union and it's organised by the Argentine Rugby Union. Nicknamed the Pumas, they play in sky blue and white jerseys, Argentina played its first international rugby match in 1910 against a touring British Isles team. As of 23 September 2019 they are ranked 11th in the world by the IRB, making them the highest-ranked nation in the Americas. They have competed at every Rugby World Cup staged since the first tournament of 1987, and the country are considered the strongest within the Americas, being undefeated against all but Canada, against whom they have suffered three losses.
The Buenos Aires Rugby Union, usually referred as URBA, is the Argentine governing body that organises and controls the rugby union in the Buenos Aires Province. The remaining clubs from the province are distributed amongst four other unions: Unión de Rugby del Oeste de Buenos Aires in the west, Unión de Rugby del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires in the centre, Unión de Rugby de Mar del Plata in the east, and Unión de Rugby del Sur in the south.
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 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.
The Chile national rugby union team, nicknamed Los Cóndores, plays in red jerseys and blue shorts, and is organised by the Chilean Rugby Federation. As of 2019, Chile has not qualified for a Rugby World Cup.
The Colombia national rugby union team is classified as a tier three nation by the International Rugby Board (IRB). They have thus far not qualified for a Rugby World Cup, but have participated in qualifying tournaments. Colombia made their debut against Mexico in 1996. In 2018, the Colombians won their first significant international honour, winning the inaugural Americas Rugby Challenge, the 'B' championship to the Americas Rugby Championship.
Argentina XV, formerly known as the Jaguares and then as Argentina XV, are the second national rugby union team in Argentina, after the full national side, the Pumas.
South American Rugby Championship refers to the continental rugby championships for South America, organized by Sudamérica Rugby. The current name of the championships is South American Six Nations, implemented in 2018. Throughout history, South American Championships have also exist for lower divisions of the rugby union championships, as well as youth and women tournaments, and editions for rugby sevens.
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. 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.
Argentina is the strongest cricket country in South America except Guyana and Suriname, both of whom represent the West Indies.
The 2008 South American Rugby Championship was the 30th edition of the now multi-divisional rugby competition involving the top rugby nations from South America.
The 2012 South American Rugby Championship "A" was the 34th edition of the competition of the leading national Rugby Union teams in South America.
The 2014 South American Rugby Championship Division A was the first edition of the newly formatted South American Rugby Championship, that included promotion and relegation. Unlike previous years, a host country or city was not chosen, rather CONSUR opted to spread the tournament around South America. This was the first time since 1981 that Argentina did not compete due to the new format of the competition.
The 2014 CONSUR Cup was the inaugural year of the top division of Confederación Sudamericana de Rugby. Argentina are automatic seeds into the competition, with the top two teams from the 2013 South American Rugby Championship "A"; Chile and Uruguay playing alongside Los Pumas.
The Jaguares is an Argentinian professional rugby union team based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They were founded in 2015 and are the first Argentinian team to play in SANZAAR's Super Rugby competition, participating from the 2016 Super Rugby season onwards. They were the runners up during the 2019 Super Rugby season, losing to the Crusaders 19-3 in the Super Rugby Final, played on July 6, 2019.
The 2015 CONSUR Cup was the second year of the top division of Confederación Sudamericana de Rugby. Argentina were automatic seeds into the competition, with the top two teams from the 2014 South American Rugby Championship "A"; Paraguay and Uruguay playing alongside Los Pumas. For the second consecutive year, Argentina won the tournament, remaining as the top South American side.
The South American Junior Rugby Championship is an annual rugby union competition that features teams from South America. The tournament began in 1972 with Argentina as the host, which saw the locals win the title. It was not until 2008 when the first official Division B tournament was held, which was eventually won by Brazil. In 2014, an addition competition was added, CONSUR Cup, which is contested by Argentina and the top team of the A Division the same year.
The Chile national rugby league team represents Chile in rugby league. The team is operated by Futbol a 13 Chile and sanctioned by the Rugby League International Federation to represent Chile at international level in the sport of rugby league.
