Americas Rugby Championship 2018: Which team will rule the continent?
Starting on January the 27, the tournament known as Americas Rugby Championship will be disputed across the continent. This contest will face the following national teams: Argentina, United States, Uruguay, Brazil, Canada, and Chile.
The first match will be played between “Los Teros”, from Uruguay, and “Cannucks”, Canadian national team. This match, and the whole first match day, will be taken in consideration to qualify to the World’s Rugby Championship, starting next year, in Japan.
This tournament, that has suffered several modifications since the first time it was played, was disputed the first time in 2009, in a four-team match, facing Canada, Britannic Columbia, United States, and Argentina. These last teams came to the tournament with their second national squads, becoming champions “Los Jaguares” from Argentina.
Since 2016, Brazil and Chile national teams were incorporated IGNORE INTO the tournament. Nowadays, excluding Argentina’s Team, every nation has to be represented with their best players. The reason is that the games are taken in consideration for world ranking.
The modality disputed nowadays is very similar to Six Nations Tournament, where national teams from France, Wales, Italy, Scotland, England, and Ireland are faced.
Talking about Americas Rugby Championship (commonly known as “Americas Six Nations”), points are distributed the next way: four points to the winner; two for every team, if there’s a tie; no points for loser.
There are some other ways to get some points, and they’re called “bonus”: teams get a point if they score four tries (six points score) per game. If a team loses by seven points or less, it will get another point.
As it’s been said, Argentina is not forced to take its best National Team, known as “Los Pumas”. This team is the one that has reached highest moments in rugby’s worldwide outlook. Even though they are the best National Team from the Americas, 8th place world ranked, the Pumas are facing one of their lowest levels in the last years.
In 2007, Argentina was in 3rd place in world ranking, just behind Nez Zealand All Blacks and South Africa Springboks. To remark this slowdown, Argentina obtained zero points obtained in The Rugby Championship. This tournament was played last year, against New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia. Argentina lost all its matches.
Some places behind, still in the top 20, United States Eagles and “Teros” from Uruguay can be found, reaching 17th and 18th place, each. Best ranking for both teams has been 14th place.
Although USA is the third team from the Americas with most participations in a World Cup, behind Argentina and Canada, the Eagles have never reached the second round. On the other hand, Uruguay is looking for its fourth participation in a World Cup.
In relation to the Canucks, they occupy 21st place in world ranking, just three places over Chilean “Condores”. Moreover, “Tupis” from Brazil are the worst classified of the six teams, ranked in the 28th place. Both teams, Chile and Brazil, have just over 35% of efficiency. Canada has a similar index, but they have defeated big teams, as France and Wales.
LatinAmerican Post | Jesus Koyoc
Copy edited by Marcela Peñaloza
