Campeonato Sudamericano de Clubes de Rugby
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Association | Sudamérica Rugby |
|---|---|
| Sport | Rugby union |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Ceased | 2000 |
| No. of teams | 4 |
| Region | South America |
| Venue | (Various) |
| Last champion | La Tablada (2000) |
| Most titles | San Isidro Club (3 titles) |
| Related competitions | Super Rugby Americas |
| Tournament format | Single-elimination |
The South American Rugby Club Championship (Campeonato Sudamericano de Clubes de Rugby), also known as the "Copa Libertadores of rugby"[1][2] was a rugby union club competition held from 1985 to 2000.
The competition was contested by the reigning champions of Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay which played under a single-elimination tournament format.[1]
The championship was held regularly from 1985 to 1989, with four participating teams which played two semifinals. It was not held again until 1997, under the name "Torneo de las Américas" and being contested by only two teams (Argentine and Uruguayan champions) which played the final.[3] Moreover, the Argentine representative was the Nacional de Clubes winner (Hindú)[3] instead of the Torneo de la URBA winner as in previous editions.[1]
The last two editions of Sudamericano (1999 and 2000) saw the return of the original format, with four teams playing the semifinals.[4][5]
Campeonato Sudamericano was a predecessor to Super Rugby Americas[1], a franchise competition released in 2020 as "Súper Liga Americana de Rugby".[6][7]
Argentine side San Isidro Club (SIC) remains as the most winning team, with 3 titles.
Qualification
| Country | Competition | Period |
|---|---|---|
 ARG | Torneo de la URBA | 1985–89 |
| Nacional de Clubes | 1997–00 | |
 CHI | Campeonato Central de Rugby | 1985–00 |
 PAR | Campeonato Paraguayo de Rugby | 1985–00 |
 URU | Campeonato Uruguayo de Rugby | 1985–00 |