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 …