The Torneo Nacional de Clubes is a club

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 second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, 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

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

and 8 from the rest of the

provinces of Argentina Argentina is subdivided into twenty-three federated states called provinces ( es, provincias, singular ''provincia'') and one called the autonomous city (''ciudad autónoma'') of Buenos Aires, which is the federal capital of the republic ( e ...

. There is also a second division, "Nacional de Clubes B", with a similar format.

History

From 1993 to 2008, the competition involved 16 clubs, which were divided into four zones. The top two clubs of each zone qualified for the quarter-finals of the competition. The 16 best placed clubs in their respective regional championships were eligible to play the Nacional de Clubes. The number of teams were determined were: eight from

, two each from the Noroeste,

Litoral The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal area ...

and Córdoba and one from both Cuyo and Mar del Plata. Due to scheduling problems, in 2009 the UAR re-launched the

Torneo del Interior The Torneo del Interior A is an annual rugby union competition in Argentina. The competition involves clubs from all provincial unions outside Buenos Aires. Teams qualify from different tournaments along the provinces of Argentina, such as Litora ...

, a competition that involved clubs from all provincial unions outside Buenos Aires. The new formula of this tournament coincided with a complete overhaul of the Nacional de Clubes system, so the competition was contested by only 4 teams, 2 from the Torneo del Interior and 2 from URBA. That format remained until 2013, when the UAR announced that after a three-year hiatus, the Nacional de Clubes would return with the original 16 team format since the 2014 edition,"Nuevo Torneo Nacional de Clubes a partir del 2014"
. uar.com.ar. Retrieved 1 August 2013. with 9 qualifying from the Torneo del Interior and 7 from the Buenos Aires Union. Hindú Club, who play at the 5,000-capacity Avenida del Golf, became the most successful rugby union club in Argentina.

Format

The "Nacional de Clubes A" is contested by 16 clubs from the best placed teams of the URBA and regional tournaments. Teams are divided into four zones, playing each other in a double round-robin tournament. Teams with the most points in each zone advance to the quarterfinals, concluding with the semi-finals and a final.Reglamento Nacional de Clubes 2018
on UAR website

List of champions

Below are detailed all the final results: ;Notes

Titles by club

References

External links

* {{Top-level rugby union club competitions Rugby union competitions in Argentina Rugby union tournaments for clubs 1993 establishments in Argentina