Match officials for round two of the 2015 Argentine National Provincial Championship have been named. The appointments are all different to the three who controlled the Round 2 fixtures played last Saturday. Juan Hernán Sylvestre will take charge of Cuyo vs Córdoba, Claudio Antonio will referee Buenos Aires vs Salta …

Rugby Canada held a semi-annual planning meeting with the provincial unions this past weekend in Halifax. While there has not been any earth-shattering news, here are a few tidbits from there and elsewhere around the Canadian rugby-verse. NO PRO RUGBY FOR CANADA Left out of yesterday’s announcement that Pro Rugby …

Both Argentina and the USA are set to be significant benefactors from World Rugby’s announcement that the institution’s governance is to be overhauled. Argentina and Italy are to join the remaining Tier 1 unions of Australia, England, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa and Wales in acquiring two votes …

Daniel Hourcade’s recent roster announcement was telling. He named a 25-man squad exclusively consisting of players based at home. Missing were all players contracted to foreign clubs – namely Horacio Agulla, Marcos Ayerza, Marcelo Bosch, Juan Figallo, Mariano Galarza, Juan Imhoff, Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe and Juan Pablo Socino. Of them Agulla and Fernández …

CASI will not be the host venue for Argentina’s Super Rugby venue after all. La Catedral had publicly confirmed that it was to be the home ground for the country’s first professional rugby team but pressure from members has called for this to change and the club has now forced the …

Rosario’s favorite back-rower, Leonardo Senatore, was unveiled today as the latest signing by the UAR. The 31 year old has signed a two-year contract to play Super Rugby for the Argentine franchise and, in doing so, becomes the seventh back-rower on the roster. Senatore’s confirmation will give the team plenty …

Professional Rugby Organization (PRO Rugby) North America officially announced this morning that their competition will launch in the Spring of 2016. Officially sanctioned by USA Rugby and World Rugby, the competition will launch with six teams. The season is set to kick off in April and run through July with each team …

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 Brazil Women’s Sevens With Brazil being the host nation of the 2016 Olympic Games and that competition being the inaugural event …

The host nation of the 2015 South American B Championship, Peru completed a 24-10 win over Venezuela to open their campaign. Los Tumis’ fourteen point win was hard-fought and showed tremendous character after Venezuela had been the better team in the opening half and continued to be so until Peru gained …

Los Tucanes of Colombia started their South American B Championship campaign in impressive fashion by defeating southern neighbors Ecuador 77-13 this afternoon in Lima, Peru. The fixture was the opening match of this year’s South American B Championship. Also competing are the host nation and Venezuela. Colombia will face both …

Brazil’s Women Rugby Sevens squad took a further step forward in their preparation for the 2016 Olympic Games. Two Brazilian teams were involved in the Valentín Martínez tournament in Montevideo, Uruguay. Such was the dominant performances of Brazil’s two teams that they met in the tournament final at Carrasco Polo …

Luque and Curda will meet in the Paraguayan Rugby Championship Final to determine the 2015 national champion. The clubs secured their respective places in the Top 9 final by winning their Semi Finals this weekend. Curda defeated Cristo Rey 40-32 while Luque saw off Santa Clara, winning 28-19.

Rugby’s Asian powerhouse Japan will play in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Japanese secured qualification today by defeating Hong Kong 24-10 in the final of the Asia Rugby Sevens Qualifier. Japan’s path to qualification involved defeating Chinese Taipei, Singapore, China and South Korea in pool play and …

USA Eagles forward Samu Manoa made a strong start for new new club as he scored a first half try for Toulon in what was his second match for the club. The Californian joined the reigning European champions from English side Northampton whom he helped win the Aviva Premiership in …

The national Olympic Committee of Costa Rica (CON-CRC) dedicated some space to Costa Rican rugby in October’s edition of the country’s magazine ‘Cortos Olímpicos’. Included in the article was the visit of Sudamérica Rugby’s Northern Project and Development Manager Alberto Ruíz Luca de Tena to Costa Rica and the region last month. …

Round two of Argentina’s national provincial championship, the Campeonato Argentino de Mayores was played this weekend. Also known as the Torneio Argentino de Uniones or the Copa Personal for commercial reasons the competition brings together the leading athletes from nationwide to give them exposure to a higher level competition. Playing away …

The 2015 South American B Championship gets underway this Sunday with two matches being played in the Peruvian capital of Lima. The home side will take on Venezuela while tournament favorites Colombia will play host to the bottom seeds, Ecuador. The Four Nations tournament will be broadcast live by TV …

World Cup back row Kyle Gilmour has been named on the bench for Rotherham Titans for their round 9 fixture against Nottingham on Sunday. The Fort McMurray, Alberta, native signed for Titans in June before leading the Wolf Pack to their first ever Canadian Rugby Championship title. Gilmour has won …

Daniel Hourcade has named a group of 25 players to prepare for their match against the Barbarians at Twickenham on November 21. Only four players come from outside of the squad that took park in the World Cup – Tomás Lezana, Felipe Ezcurra, Emiliano Boffelli, and Ramiro Moyano. Of note …

US Eagles World Cup centre Thretton Palamo will make his debut for London Irish in the Greene King IPA Championship tilt against Ealing Trailfinders on Saturday. The powerhouse midfielder is on a season-long loan from Aviva Premiership club Saracens after seeing limited time last season. Palamo will wear the no12 …