Argentine referee Damián Schneider has been named on the panel by World Rugby for the 2017-18 HSBC Sevens Series. Schneider is to be the only Argentine official for next season. Schneider will officiate in seven of the ten legs, missing the tournaments in Sydney, Hamilton, and Singapore. It is to …

The Houston Strikers have confirmed the signing of USA Selects flanker Cecil Garber for the 2018 Major League Rugby season. Joining from the Seattle Saracens club by way of the Northeast Bulldogs 7s side, the 25-year-old is the 19th player to put pen to paper for the Southeast Texas franchise. …

Jeff Williams has confirmed his 26-man roster for the World Rugby u20 Trophy, to be played in Montevideo starting on August 29. Canada qualified for the tournament by virtue of a win on aggregate over the USA in a two-match series in June. It marks a return to the second-tier …

The Argentina XV and Toulon will face-off in the second of two matches this evening. The Top 14 club’s tour of Argentina is serving as a preseason competition. The home side is using the opportunity as a bridge to elevate players to senior test level. Argentina XV Head Coach Felipe …

USA enforcer, Samu Manoa is back for Toulon. The Californian will make his return from injury this evening, facing the Argentina XV in Tucumán. Manoa has been named as a replacement for the fixture to be played at Tucumán Lawn Tennis Club in Northern Argentina. Injury to the 32-year-old saw …

Australia coach Michael Cheika has refined his Rugby Championship squad, cutting his training group down to 34 players for the SANZAAR tournament. A number of injuries have forced his hand somewhat while others have received the axe after being named in the original group, most notably Brumbies lock Sam Carter. …

Mark Anscombe is no longer Head Coach of Canada’s Senior Men’s team. The news was confirmed today by Rugby Canada that the 60-year-old New Zealander would not be continuing in the role he has held since being appointed in March of last year. In the 15 months since Canada was …

Francisco González and Caua Ricardo Santos have been named by World Rugby on the panel for the upcoming Junior World Trophy. Taking place from August 29 to September 10 the tournament will take place in Montevideo. The two officials are from South American – González is from Uruguay and Santos …

World Rugby baffled as Sonny Bill Williams is Freed to play again. The global governing body of the sport released a statement earlier today underlining its surprise that the New Zealand player has been cleared for the Rugby Championship opener. The statement made by World Rugby us as follows: While …

New Zealand Head Coach Steve Hansen has unveiled a 34-man roster to prepare for the Rugby Championship. Included are four uncapped players: Richard Buckman and Tom Franklin of the Highlanders, Akira Ioane of the Blues, and Chiefs prop Atu Moli. Opportunities have opened up in the squad for a number …

Australia has a new skipper. Ahead pf the Rugby Championship Waratahs flanker and captain Michael Hooper has been confirmed as the new national leader. The 25-year-old replaces Stephen Moore with the veteran hooker to retire later this year. It is not an entirely new role for Hooper. He has prior …

It’s a mix-and-match week for our selects with players coming in from the Rugby Americas North Championship final in Georgetown, the Nacional de Clubes final in San Isidro, and a couple Top 14 pre-season games, one played on Argentine soil. The RAN Champion Panthers provide the most after a difficult but …

History was made today in South America. For the first time ever Brazil defeated Chile at u20’s. The junior Brazilian side won 7-5, doing so in Montevideo, Uruguay. The match was the first of two match in the closing day of international competition in the Uruguayan capital. Argentina, Brazil, Chile …

The worst kept secret in rugby was made official today – South Africa is to join the Guinness Pro 12. The discarded Super Rugby franchises the Southern Kings and Cheetahs will play in the upcoming Celtic-Italian League. The expansion sees the competition rebranded as the Guinness Pro 14 Championship. The …

A cautious approach is still favored by many for the newest professional rugby competition headed to American shores, but anticipation is building with news trickling out of various sources and potential kickoff now less than a year away. While it’s understood most teams are asking their players to arrive this …

Felipe Contepomi has made 10 changes to the Argentina XV roster for game 2 against Toulon. The teams will meet on Friday at Tucumán Lawn Tennis Club. Kick-off is scheduled for 9pm. The fixture is Toulon’s second of as many pre-season matches ahead of the 2017-2018 Top 14. For the …

Paraguay has officially started a High Performance Plan for rugby. The project will see both men’s and women’s players both at senior and youth levels utilize the national Paraguayan Olympic (COP) training center. Paraguayan rugby has received the support of the National Secretary of Sport to use the COP. The …

Up and Under is a weekly feature on Americas Rugby News which reviews the best and worst from games involving the Americas teams over the previous week. UP Argentina XV The Argentina XV impressed against Toulon, winning 45-24 at La Catedral on Saturday. The official national ‘A’ side proved to …

New Zealand is against Japan joining the Rugby Championship. Weeks after World Rugby Vice Chairman, Agustín Pichot requested Japan’s inclusion, New Zealand Rugby’s chief executive Steve Tew has said no. Tew firmly believes that in order to join the Rugby Championship Japan must focus on turning the Sunwolves into a much …

Argentina and Uruguay won their respective u20’s matches this weekend in South America. Played at Old Christians Club in Montevideo, Argentina faced Chile in match one while Uruguay took-on Brazil in match two. Argentina used the match against Chile’s u20’s by fielding an u19 side. It was a strategic move …