Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
Panama has been elected a member of Sudamérica Rugby. The Central American Republic becomes the 13th country to have Full Membership. In doing so it joins Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Panama previously had associate member status. In obtaining full status Sudamérica Rugby is recognizing the hard work and progress made by the Unión Panameña de Rugby.
As of 2016 the union has 516 players, 32% of which are women. There are 17 clubs in the country and a total of 30 teams. Growth has seen player numbers rise steadily. In 2014 Panama had 286 players while in 2015 the number was 352.
Panama has a national men’s team and a national men’s 7’s team. The country also has a national women’s 7’s team. In 2016 Panama defeated El Salvador to record a first ever test match victory.
