Americas Rugby Championship is making a comeback in 2026
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Rugby fans, especially those from North and South America, are in for a treat as there is good news coming to this sport.
After a 7-year hiatus, the Americas Rugby Championship is finally back on schedule. This is a big deal for the rugby scene in the Western Hemisphere, as it allows the best 6 teams to show off their skills.
The teams in question are the USA, Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, Brazil, and Uruguay. They’ll face each other in Paraguay at the Estadio Héroes de Curupaytí stadium in Luque between the 9th and 17th October 2026. Let’s see what else there is to know about the upcoming Americas Rugby Championship.
What Should Fans and Bettors Know About the Americas Rugby Championship 2026?
The last edition of the Americas Rugby Championship took place between February and March 2019. This year, we finally got this spectacular competition back after waiting for 7 long years. However, the 2026 edition comes with a couple of changes that rugby fans should know about.
First of all, we won’t get to see Canada as the Americas Rugby Championship 2026 will operate as a Sudamérica Rugby tournament. Paraguay stepped in to take its place and host the competition.
Next, the format will feature 2 pools of 3 teams, where each side gets to play 3 matches. Every team from pool A will face the teams in pool B. There won’t be a final match as the team with the most points will win the competition.
In previous editions, the teams played 5 matches each over 5 weeks. Now, they’ll play 3 matches over the course of 8 days. The events will take place on 9th, 13th, and 17th October 2026.
The shorter format might make the tournament more competitive and increase the overall excitement, which goes in favour of the fans. Bettors are also in for a treat as they get to wager on a total of 6 matches in a short time. Some of them may even consider using Irish betting offers to place extra bets.
Who Are the Favourites to Win the Americas Rugby Championship 2026?
At the moment, there are no odds for the 2026 Americas Rugby Championship published by bookmakers. In fact, the tournament hasn’t even had its official draw to determine the pools and matches.
But we can fairly say that most fans and experts see Argentina as the ultimate favourite for winning this competition. This team is the favourite despite playing with its XV squad. The USA team will try to enter the tournament with full force and try to compete with Argentina and the other rugby sides.
We can also see Uruguay and Chile as the main challengers for the Americas Rugby Championship title this year. Both have quality squads, which they showcased in recent years. We should point out that Chile made it through to the World Cup 2023 for the first time in its history.
As for Brazil and Paraguay, we can definitely say that they are the underdogs in this rugby competition. Both of them will most likely play with their first team squads in hopes of surprising the favourites.
The Americas Rugby Championship Over the Years
In 2009, World Rugby organised the very first Americas Rugby Championship, also known as the Americas’ Six Nations. Since then, rugby fans have been able to enjoy a total of 9 editions, with the absence of 2011 and 2015. A 2020 ARC was also scheduled, but the organisers cancelled it due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The tournament’s format changed over the years in terms of the number of teams and matches. In 2009, there were 6 teams, including 4 Canadian Division sides and 2 international teams. Between 2010 and 2014, we saw just 4 teams, which played 3 matches each.
Then, the competition introduced a 6-team format where each team played against the others. This meant that the teams would play 5 matches, and the one with the most points would win the championship.
Now, Argentina has won a total of 7 ARC trophies, all of them with its second-tier squad. The USA team won the other 2 championships in 2017 and 2018. In both those years, Argentina XV finished in 2nd place
