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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 …

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 …

The USA South Panthers are the 2017 Rugby Americas North (RAN) winners. The team’s 23-19 away win over Guyana this afternoon sealed the RAN Championship. Played in muddy conditions, scoring was not always so simple. It took 19 minutes for the first points to be scored. A Zach Miller penalty …

Colombia’s first rugby player to play in France is Andrés Zafra. The 21-year-old joined Lyon from Colombia when he was 19 and is now preparing for the upcoming Top 14 season. Zafra played for Lyon on Friday night. The club faced Grenoble in a pre-season friendly match, running out 26-19 …

A special guest has been visiting Band Saracens this week. 24-year-old Argentine hooker Santiago Iglesias Valdés featured at the team’s training at the Band Arena in São Paulo. Santiago Iglesias Valdés is the older brother of Erick who plays for Band Saracens. Together with his father German and brother Agustín …

With the new 2017-2018 season just around the corner clubs across Europe continue with their recruitment. In Spanish the 2017 champions, Valladolid Rugby Asociación Club (VRAC) Quesos Entrepinares has added a former Puma. Tomás Carrió joins the Spanish champions from Italy. Aged 28, Carrió is a former PladAR player. Capable …