Sport | Rugby union |
---|---|
Founded | 1951 |
No. of teams | 13 |
Continent | South America & Central America |
Most recent champion(s) |
Argentina (37 titles) |
South American Rugby Championship refers to nine rugby championships organized by Sudamérica Rugby:
The South American Rugby Championship is a round-robin tournament, with each team playing each other once at a designated host stadium. From 1951 to 1998, only Argentina, Chile and Uruguay were the core teams in the tournament. They competed alongside occasional additions of Brazil, Paraguay and Peru, with the winner being decided on which team finishes with the most table points. In 2000, a second division was added, which meant the bottom placed team of the A division had a play-off match with the top placed team of the B division, although this did not apply to every tournament due to the Rugby World Cup qualification formats. In 2012, a third Division was added, which meant up until 2014, the bottom placed team of the B division would play a play-off match against the top placed C Division team. Although like A and B, this did not apply to every tournament due to the Rugby World Cup qualification format. In 2014, the tournament became a four-tiered competition, with Argentina no longer competing as a regular. However, the tournament would keep the same format for promotion and relegation. The top placed team from Division C will play a play-off match against the bottom placed team from Division B to determine which Division those teams are in for the succeeding tournament. The winner of the play-off match will earn a place in Division B for the succeeding tournament, the loser plays in Division C the following year. This works in the same way for Division A and B. The top placed team of Division B will play a play-off match against the bottom placed team from Division A to determine which divisions those teams will play in for the succeeding tournament. The winner of the play-off match will earn a place in Division A for the succeeding tournament, while the loser plays in Division B the following year. However, the top two teams of Division A will compete for the CONSUR Cup, alongside Argentina, the following year regardless of their positions of that year.
Notes: