USA

Uruguay have confirmed their team to play the USA in their opening round match of the 2017 Americas Rugby Championship on Saturday. Alejandro Nieto captains a side that contains five further members of the 2015 World Cup squad. Loosehead prop Mateo Sanguinetti, blindside flanker Franco Lamanna, inside center Juan de …

David Tameilau won’t be moving to the Top 14 after all, at least not next season. According to French reports the US Eagles international has signed a two-year contract extension with Pro D2 side Narbonne. Tameilau joined the team in late October, initially signing as a medical joker. He has …

The Eagles are on the same level as Canada when it comes to burning desire for more high level competition for their best domestic talent. Their player numbers are increasing and yet there is no nationwide agreement on player pathway. PRO Rugby afforded a glimmer of hope but its demise …

Americas players have long been forced to balance their professional club careers with international availability, with test rugby often coming second in terms of priority, at least outside of the World Cup. Things have been further complicated with the UAR’s new policy of excluding European-based professionals from Pumas selection. There …

Canada’s thirst for more high level fixtures was quenched in 2016 with the addition of the Americas Rugby Championship proving a major step in the development of top amateur talent. While not quite top flight competition, the games gave the best of Canada’s domestic players a chance to test themselves …

Our last weekend focused on domestic rugby until the end of March was an interesting one. With no Premiership or Pro 12 we were given the two French divisions and the Anglo-Welsh cup to pine over, with no players coming from the Championship. Thankfully there were plenty of decent performances …

An early second half try from Joe Taufete’e put Worcester in a strong position against the Harlequins. The Eagle crossed for the third and final try for Worcester in what was an Anglo-Welsh Cup match this past Saturday. The try would ultimately not be sufficient for the Worcester Warriors to go …

Like Brazil, the Chileans have benefited greatly from the re-development of the Americas Rugby Championship. Their 2016 total of 11 tests is almost three times as many as the four they played in 2015, and the first time they’ve had more than seven in a calendar year since 2005. While …

The Breakthrough Player of the Year is somewhat of a loosely defined category. It doesn’t necessitate that a player has achieved international stardom, nor does it require a player to necessarily have achieved international recognition at all. Any player who has demonstrated a significant rise in their standards over the …

The introduction of the Americas Rugby Championship has given Brazil a major boost not just in terms of competition standards but perhaps more importantly in sheer volume of test matches. Previously they would go no higher than six tests in a calendar year – in 2016 they had a record …