Australia has named a vastly experienced team to face New Zealand on Saturday. The Oceania rivals are to meet in the opening fixture of the 2016 Rugby Championship. They are also to be competing for the Bledisloe Cup. Stephen Moore will captain the team from hooker. Joining him with more …

PRO Rugby year one is in the books. The Denver Stampede are inaugural champions, lifting the unnamed trophy, and the verdict from American fans is unanimous – they want more. More teams, more players, more games, more exposure. It’s onwards and upwards from here. Before we look at where things …

Beauden Barrett is a surprise choice to start at flyhalf for the All Blacks in their opening match of the Rugby Championship against Australia in Sydney on Saturday. The mercurial Hurricanes playmaker is typically seen as an impact reserve but will instead begin the match with Aaron Cruden on the …

Another week with no overseas competitions yet on the go. With the Rugby Championship and Top 14 set to start this weekend it will make a more competitive team next week, but in the meantime we reach almost exclusively into the URBA Top 14 for our weekly draft. The lone …

The French domestic championship – the Top 14 – starts a new season on Saturday. Competing for the ultimate prize in France will be clubs from large cities and small towns. They come from far and wide with the competition increasingly being nationwide as south-west small town representation has deteriorated. In the …

The URU has confirmed Los Teros’ November Internationals match schedule. The number four ranked country from the Americas will embark on a three match tour playing one test in each of Germany, Spain and Romania. The tour is to be a genuine opportunity for Esteban Meneses’ players to test themselves …

The wishes of Canadian rugby fans appear to have been answered. TSN will be broadcasting the opening round of The Rugby Championship this weekend. While the broadcaster has not made an official announcement and has not replied to inquiries about the tournament as a whole, an update to their schedule …

A new season of Top 14 rugby begins on Saturday. The opening round kicks off less than two months after the 2016 final was played in Barcelona. The quick turnaround is due to Rugby World Cup 2015 having delayed matches in the early part of the 2015-2016 season. With there being …

For the first time two Chilean players will compete in the top division of French rugby. Bayonne have confirmed that prop Ramón Ayarza will continue with the club this season after signing as a medical joker at the end of last season’s championship run in Pro D2. Together with second …

Ohio Aviators bookend Jamie Mackintosh is headed back to France. The one-time New Zealand All Black prop joined PRO Rugby after spending time as a medical joker with Montpellier last season. With his former provincial side Southland opting not to offer him a Mitre 10 Cup contract, Mackintosh will instead …

In a surprise move Santiago González Iglesias is set to start at outside center for Los Pumas. Head Coach Daniel Hourcade is to name the fly half in mid-field for the Rugby Championship opening round fixture against South Africa on Saturday. A fly half by trade, González Iglesias is to …

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 Canada Women’s Sevens Spirit and utter determination from captain Jen Kish and her team saw Canada winning Bronze at the Olympics Games …

Agustín Ormaechea produced an impressive performance for Mont de Marsan. In a Pro d2 warm-up fixture the Uruguayan scrum half scored two tries as his team overcame Dax 35-31. Mont de Marsan fielded different teams for the two halves. Ormaechea started the opening half and did a fine job at directly …

Uruguay’s official ‘A’ side, the Uruguay XV will participate in the Campeonato Argentino de Uniones for the second consecutive year. Set to be played in October and November the competition will feature not only Uruguay but also Paraguay in what is the Argentine Provincial Championship. In the 2015 edition of …

The Dominican Republic women’s Rugby Sevens team defeated Cuba to secure the Copa Máximo Gómez.  Played in Bayamo in Granma province the competition was extremely promising for what is a rapidly growing sport throughout the Americas. Participating on international soil for the first time in their history, the Dominican Republic defeated …

Los Pumas 7’s star Juan Pablo Estellés is to play for the Northampton Saints. The center from Atlético del Rosario has joined the Aviva Premiership club on a deal which will see him at the club for the duration of the 2016-2017 season. In moving to England the 28 year …

South African star Duane Vermeulen will not play against Argentina in the opening round of the Rugby Championship. The bruising no8 has injured his knee playing for his French club Toulon and has been withdrawn from the Springbok squad. An MRI has confirmed the damage and Vermeulen will undergo surgery …

Former Canada u20 representative Josh Larsen has been selected to play for Northland in the Mitre 10 Cup. The Vancouver-born lock was in the Otago B group last season but will be part of the senior Taniwha squad in the upcoming provincial competition. He has previously lined up for Otago …

Jake Ilnicki has signed to play for Manawatu Turbos in the Mitre 10 Cup. The Canadian international prop replaces Hubert Buydens on the Manawatu roster after his San Diego Breakers teammate suffered a season-ending knee injury while on PRO Rugby duty. Ilnicki arrived in New Zealand on Wednesday and is …

Canada have made three changes to their original ‘A’ squad headed to the UK next week. Benoît Pifféro, Ben LeSage, and Phil Mackenzie have dropped out of the two-match trip. Called up as replacements are Eric Howard and two uncapped midfielders, Doug Fraser and Sam Hayward. Ontario Blues standout Howard …