The Torneo Regional del NOA (NorOeste Argentino – Argentine North-West), also known as Torneo del Noroeste, is a regional
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
competition in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
.
Originally, only clubs from the
Tucumán RU took part. In successive editions the competition added clubs from the unions of Salta, Jujuy and Santiago del Estero. This yearly tournament has traditionally been dominated by Tucumán clubs. Clubs from the other 3 provinces have yet to win a title.
Universitario
Club Universitario de Deportes, popularly known as Universitario or simply as La "U", is a Peruvian football club located in Lima. The club was founded in 1924 under the name Federación Universitaria by students of the National University of S ...
is the most successful team, with 23 titles won to date.
History
Rugby was first played in Tucumán in 1915 but the first official rugby team in the province –
Club Natación y Gimnasia– would only be formed in 1936. Six years later
Tucumán Rugby Club was founded, followed by
Universitario Rugby Club in 1943 and
Cardenales Rugby Club in 1944.
Those four clubs would go on to found the "Unión de Rugby del Norte" on 29 February 1944.
Although the URN was based in
Tucumán Province
Tucumán () is the most densely populated, and the second-smallest by land area, of the provinces of Argentina.
Located in the northwest of the country, the province has the capital of San Miguel de Tucumán, often shortened to Tucumán. Neigh ...
it also dealt with fledgling clubs from the neighbouring provinces of
Salta,
Jujuy
San Salvador de Jujuy (), commonly known as Jujuy and locally often referred to as San Salvador, is the capital and largest city of Jujuy Province in northwest Argentina. Also, it is the seat of the Doctor Manuel Belgrano Department. It lies ne ...
and
Santiago del Estero
Santiago del Estero (, Spanish for ''Saint-James-Upon-The-Lagoon'') is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 252,192 inhabitants, () making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a surf ...
. Later these provinces would go on to form their own unions in 1951, 1966 and 1968 respectively.
Although all four provinces take part in the regional Torneo del Noroeste, they still organise their own local competitions.
Format
As of 2018, 14 clubs from all 4 provinces take part in the tournament.
[ The competition is divided into two zones. The four best placed teams qualify to "Zona Campeonato" to crown the champion of the season. The tournament uses a ]promotion and relegation
In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues ...
system.
Champion and runner-up of Torneo del Noroeste qualify for the Nacional de Clubes
The Torneo Nacional de Clubes is a club rugby union competition in Argentina, organised by the Argentine Rugby Union (UAR). The Nacional de Clubes is the main club competition in Argentine rugby, being contested by a total of 16 teams, 8 from Buen ...
, the main club competition of Argentina while the other best placed teams qualify for Torneo del Interior, the national club competition outside Buenos Aires.
Championships
Results
;Notes
Titles by team
References
External links
Torneo Regional del NOA
on URT website
Norte RugbyUnión de Rugby de TucumánUnión Santiagueña de RugbyUnión Jujeña de RugbyUnión de Rugby de Salta
{{Rugby union in Argentina
Rugby union leagues in Argentina
1944 establishments in Argentina