American Rugby Championship 2018-week 4

American Rugby Championship

Week 4

USA 43- Brazil 16

I just watched the USA Eagles dominate the Brazilian national team in Brazil. All I could think as i

watched the bigger faster more talented USA team run over the overmatched Brazil team was……

...now the fans of Brazil know how USA fans feel when our soccer team meet on the pitch.

The USA Eagles pounded Brazil. 43-16 and now have the inside track for their second American

Rugby Championship. The USA still need a lot of work to beat the nations ranked above them but

this is a good tournament to test your skills, challenge your team and gain confidence.

The USA sit atop the ARC with 19 points and have the inside track for the second consecutive

ARC. They were lucky to play Argentina XV at home and squeaked out that important victory.

The next game for all the marbles is against Uruguay in Uruguay. The last time USA played

in Uruguay they lost 25-29. USA has a 13-2-1 record against Uruguay however Uruguay

Rugby is just about USA’s equal with USA ranked 17th and Uruguay 18th however they are

tied with points. The ARC will be decided with this game.

Argentina XV 40 - Canada 15

Make no mistake Argentina is the best team in the Americas. They send their B team for
development to the ARC. This development team is on par with USA and Uruguay’s top team.
This team just whipped Canada 40-15 and they also have a chance to capture the ARC.
Next up for Argentina is Brazil so this will be an easy win. I also see them scoring 4 tries to
gain the extra point. The win and the points will give Argentina 20 points. That is one point
more that the USA ---if the USA loses to Uruguay which i see as a toss up game at this point.

The USA would have to lose with in 7 point to Uruguay and hope to capture the tournament
 through the back door.

Uruguay 67- Chile 15

Uruguay are starting to assert themselves near the end of the tournament. They just pounded
Chile badly 67-15 which is the highest point in the tournament.  They only have one loss to the
powerful Argentina team. The have the USA next and they are playing at home. Uruguay chance
of winning they beat the USA for 4 points and score more that 4 tries for the extra point which would
give them 19 points.

They would also need Brazil to do them a favor against Argentina

2017 Hong Kong Sevens- April 7th - 9th

What is the next big Rugby event......

The Hong Kong Seven Series is always the grand daddy of them all. This will be the 42 edition and the Seventh World Rugby Seven Series.

This series not only has the top 16 nations play but there is also the promotion/regulation groups of  World Series qualifiers of 12 other nations. This year Germany, Spain, Uruguay and Hong Kong are the favorites to join the top group next year.  
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The USA has 2 great series in Las Vegas and Canada and now sit in 5th place chasing New Zealand. The problem looking ahead is that you have Australia on their heals.

Shake up in the Americas Ranking

This was a successful tournament. No one wanted to see the Argentina XV win for a 7th consecutive time. We also wanted to see the tournament grow and become more competitive. I do not about grow but it certainly got more competitive. 

First there is a new champion in this tournament....the USA Eagles. They went undefeated and showed they are a force in the region for Rugby. After losing to both Brazil and Uruguay last year the Eagles did not overlook anyone. 

Uruguay placed 3rd and gave the USA fits playing in the states. Uruguay did beat Canada. Uruguay has now taken over Canada in the standing for the first time ever. Uruguay now make 4 quality teams in the Americas.

Brazil also beat their Northern Rival-Canada in a squeaker. Canada was always been ranked above Brazil in Rugby. These victories has had an effect on the Americas Rugby Ranking. 

Paraguay quality is lacking behind the top 6 and hopefully they can challenge next year and make promotion/regulation a reality.

USA Sevens leapfrogs from 8th place to 5th

The USA had their best result for for in the 2016-17 World rugby Seven Series.  They placed 3rd after beating Argentine in the quarterfinals and nipping New Zealand 19-15 for 3rd place. This victory moves the USA up  8th place to 5th. 

The USA was in a 3 way tie with Argentina and France with 35 points. This victory put a little distance between France who are now 10th and Argentina who have 52 points in 8th. 

The USA leapfrogged Scotland who were in 5th, and Wales who were tied for 6th with Australia. 

The European teams are expected to do well in the last two legs which are in Paris and London but we see how Scotland, Wales and France faltered here in North America.

The good news for the Eagles is the are playing with confidence and next weekend the games are in Vancouver. Their group is Australia, France and Japan. They are all beatable. 

USA wins their first Rugby Championship

All the USA Eagles (15 per side) needed was a win (or a tie w/ bonus points) against the favorite Argentina XV in Argentina and that is just what they got. The USA tied Argentina 27-27 and got an extra bonus points to beat Argentina in the standing . The USA claimed the Championship because they scored 4 tries in the match. This Earned them extra point 22 to finally beat the dominant Rugby nation of the Americas.

This is the first time any nation besides Argentina has won the Americas Championship. This is the 7th competition of the top teams in the Americas. 

This is the first time the USA has won a major Rugby Union tournament. This is great news not only for the USA but also the other countries in the Americas. Rugby seems to be getting better in the Americas. Last year Brazil and Uruguay beat the USA. This year Uruguay and Brazil both beat Canada.   

USA v Argentina for Rugby Championship today

 USA v Argentina Priview preview

The Americas Rugby Championship will be determined in the Estadio Municipal de Comodoro Rivadavia. The stadium holds 10,000 which is perfect for Rugby attendance.


This link will do a much better job of the players that i ever could. IT sounds like the Argentina is still a much better team and they hardly lost at home. The Argentine coach is changing his players just because he can. The subs are as good as the starters.  It seem like his is just getting them quality playing time and seeing who can make the jump to their top team.


This game is for the Championship so the stakes are high. The USA know that Argentina has won every Americas championship dating back to 2009, which is 6 in a row. This tournament would make 7.

The USA sure has gotten better over the years however every other country has also gotten better. Hopefully the top USA team (the Eagles) can beat the B team from Argentina. I think all American teams (Canada, Uruguay, Chili and Brazil) would want the USA to win. Who wants a B team slapping other countries best around.

Go Eagles

Americas Rugby Championship

        I am happy with the way the tournament is progressing and so are the promoters. The USA has the biggest market and the most potential of any team in the tournament. I believe the promoters wanted the tournament to still be " alive"  until the last week. So what do you do, well schedule the 2 best teams (USA v Argentina) to play last and hope they have tied records.  Bravo---mission accomplished.

    We all knew Argentina would be there but the USA was in question. So lets take a look at tournament so far. Week 1 the USA played Uruguay at home. The Eagles beat the determined Uruguay by only 5 points. Uruguay beat the USA in last year tournament. Week 2 USA got rolling and pounded a weak Brazil team 51-3. Brazil know knows how I feel when the Samba Kings dominate my yanks on the soccer field. Week 3 was a showdown against USA Eagles arch rival Canada.

USA v Canada
 Canada owns a 38-17-1 all-time record against the USA.  Canada rugby has been as dominant as CAnada hockey against USA hockey. But times have changes. It is safe to say the USA has now over taken Canada in Rugby. The USA has won the last 6 test games in a row. The last time Canada beat the USA was in 2013. 
   The USA pounded their arch rivals in the Am Rugby Championship 51-34 and the game was on Canada soil. 
    This rivalry is not over. To his summer these 2 team square off for the most important game every 4 years. These two games will determine who will represent American North in the next Rugby World Cup. 

 USA vs Chile:
Chile sits at the bottom however they have played 2 away games and their home game was against the all powerful Argentina. The Eagles could get tripped up in Chile if they get caught looking ahead to Argentina.

Here is hoping the Eagles dominate Chile this weekend...

Go Eagles