Sudamérica Rugby
History
Although there was a meeting of associations during the 1961 [South American Rugby Championship|1961 Championship], the body was officially established as "Confederación Sudamericana de Rugby" on October 14, 1988, in the Yacht and Golf Club of Asunción, Paraguay. The act of foundation was signed by members of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.The members also set up the Copa Libertadores de Rugby, contested by the national champions of each association, to be held in Punta del Este. According with the act, the Confederation was created with the aim of promoting the spreading and development of amateur rugby within South America, and organising rugby competitions in the region.
Following a suggestion made by World Rugby, the Confederation changed its name to "Sudamérica Rugby" in 2015.
In 2019, Sudamérica Rugby announced the creation of "Superliga Americana", the first professional competition in the region. To begin in February 2020, the tournament will be contested by five clubs of five countries, playing in a double round-robin basis. At the end of the regular phase, the four best placed teams will qualify to play the semi-finals, while team placed 5th. will play two matches versus the Colombian representative, which added in 2021.
Franchised team Ceibos, based in Córdoba and made up of players from Argentina XV and Jaguares, will represent Argentina at the competition. Former Puma Ignacio Fernández Lobbe was appointed as coach of Los Ceibos. The other teams taking part in the tournament will be Corinthians, Selknam, Cafeteros Pro, Olimpia Lions, and Peñarol.
Member unions
- Bolivia
- Costa Rica
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Nicaragua
- Panama
- ''Not affiliated with World Rugby''
World Cup qualifying
Sudamérica Rugby nations participate in qualifying tournaments for the Rugby World Cup every four years. Three Sudamérica Rugby nations –Argentina, Uruguay and Chile – have qualified to play in Rugby World Cups.| Edition | Automatically qualified | Qualified via competition | Qualified via repechage | Eliminated in repechage | Eliminated at final stage | Eliminated at third stage | Eliminated at second stage | Eliminated at first stage |
| 1987 [Rugby World Cup#Participating nations|1987] | ||||||||
| 1991 | ||||||||
| 1995 | ||||||||
| 1999 | ||||||||
| 2003 | ||||||||
| 2007 | ||||||||
| 2011 | ||||||||
| 2015 | ||||||||
| 2019 | ||||||||
| 2023 | ||||||||
| 2027 [Men's Rugby World Cup – South America qualification|2027] |