The 2018 Americas Rugby Championship was the third series of the Americas Rugby Championship (sometimes informally called the "Americas' Six Nations", a reference to Europe's Six Nations Championship), which is the top elite tournament for the Americas nations. It was contested by Argentina XV (Argentina's secondary national team), Canada, United States, Uruguay, Brazil, and Chile. All matches were full international test matches with caps awarded, except those involving Argentina XV.
The Championship was retained by the United States, who became the first nation to win the Grand Slam ARC title, winning all five games.
Participants NationStadiumHead coach Captain(s)Home stadiumCapacityCityEstadio 23 de Agosto23,200Jujuy Felipe ContepomiLautaro BavaraEstadio Agustín Pichot1,000UshuaiaPacaembu Stadium37,730São Paulo Rodolfo AmbrosioYan RosettiEstádio Martins Pereira15,317São José dos CamposBC Place54,500Vancouver Kingsley JonesPhil MackWesthills Stadium1,718Langford, British ColumbiaEstadio La Portada18,243La Serena Mark CrossJosé Ignacio LarenasEstadio Municipal de La Pintana6,000SantiagoStubHub Center27,000Carson, California Gary GoldBlaine ScullyPapa Murphy's Park11,569Sacramento, CaliforniaTitan Stadium10,000Fullerton, CaliforniaEstadio Domingo Burgueño22,000Maldonado Esteban MenesesJuan Manuel GaminaraEstadio Charrúa14,000Montevideo
Table PosNation (rank)GamesPointsTriesBonus pointsTablepointsPlayedWonDrawnLostForAgainst4 tries7 Pts loss1550019768+1292840242540116969+10024412135302168157+1123201445203132129+31830115510463159–9660046500571218–14710011Points are awarded to the teams as follows:Win - 4 pointsDraw - 2 points4 or more tries - 1 pointLoss within 7 points - 1 pointLoss greater than 7 points - 0 points Rank refers to World Rugby Rankings before the start of the tournament
Squads
Fixtures The tournament will be played in a round-robin format, with each team playing the five others once. The fixtures were announced on 10 December 2017. The opening fixture will take place a week early to the following two games of the same round, with it doubling up as a 2019 Rugby World Cup Americas qualifier match for Canada and Uruguay.
Week 1
FB 15Taylor ParisRW 14Jeff Hassler OC 13Ben LeSageIC 12Nick BlevinsLW 11D. T. H. van der MerweFH 10Connor Braid SH 9 Phil Mack (c) N8 8 Tyler ArdronOF 7 Matt Heaton BF 6 Evan OlmsteadRL 5 Josh Larsen LL 4 Brett BeukeboomTP 3 Jake IlnickiHK 2 Ray Barkwill LP 1 Hubert Buydens Replacements:HK 16Benoît Piffero PR 17Djustice Sears-Duru PR 18Cole KeithN8 19Admir Cejvanovic FL 20Lucas Rumball SH 21Gordon McRorie FH 22Pat Parfrey FB 23Brock Staller Coach: Kingsley Jones FB 15Rodrigo SilvaRW 14Leandro Leivas OC 13Juan Manuel Cat IC 12Andrés VilasecaLW 11Nicolás FreitasFH 10Felipe BerchesiSH 9 Santiago Arata N8 8 Alejandro NietoOF 7 Franco Lammana BF 6 Juan Manuel Gaminara (c) RL 5 Rodrigo Capó Ortega LL 4 Ignacio DottiTP 3 Mario Sagario HK 2 Germán Kessler LP 1 Mateo Sanguinetti Replacements:HK 16Carlos Pombo PR 17Matías Benítez PR 18Juan Echeverría LK 19Manuel Leindekar FL 20Rodolfo Garese SH 21Agustín Ormaechea FB 22Gastón Mieres CE 23Joaquín Prada Coach: Esteban Meneses Man of the Match: Nicolás Freitas (Uruguay)
Touch judges: Kurt Weaver (United States) Derek Summers (United States) Television match official: Marc Nelson (United States) Notes: This is the first time that Uruguay has beaten Canada in Canada. This was the first leg of the 2019 Rugby World Cup Americas 2 qualification
Week 2
FB 15Tomás IaniszewskiRW 14Mauricio Urrutia OC 13José Ignacio Larenas (c) IC 12Francisco de la FuenteLW 11Ítalo ZuninoFH 10Santiago VidelaSH 9 Juan Pablo Perrotta N8 8 Benjamín Soto OF 7 Alfonso Escobar BF 6 Javier RichardRL 5 Mario MayolLL 4 Nikola Bursic TP 3 José Tomás Munita HK 2 Tomás DussaillantLP 1 Vittorio Lastra Replacements:HK 16Ignacio GuajardoPR 17Sebastián Otero PR 18Marco Díaz N8 19Manuel Dagnino FL 20Nicolás Garafulic SH 21Beltrán Vergara FH 22Benjamín Pizarro CE 23Lucca Avelli Coach: Mark Cross FB 15Lucas Tranquez RW 14Lucas Muller OC 13Felipe SanceryIC 12Moisés DuqueLW 11Jacobus de Wet van Niekerk FH 10Josh ReevesSH 9 Laurent Bourda-CouhetN8 8 André ArrudaOF 7 Cléber DiasBF 6 Arthur BergoRL 5 Lucas Piero LL 4 Gabriel PaganiniTP 3 Jardel Vettorato HK 2 Yan Rosetti (c)LP 1 Lucas Abud Replacements:FL 16Angelo MarcucciPR 17Michel Gomes HK 18Wilton Rebolo LK 19Diego LópezFL 20Matheus Daniel SH 21Will Broderick WG 22Robert Tenório WG 23Ariel Rodrigues Coach: Rodolfo Ambrosio Touch judges: FRC Appt. (Chile) FRC Appt. (Chile) Television match official: FRC Appt. (Chile) Notes: This is the first time that Brazil has beaten Chile in Chile. Lucca Avelli, Alfonso Escobar and Nicolás Garafulic (all Chile) made their international debuts.
FB 15Mike Te'oRW 14Blaine Scully (c)OC 13Marcel Brache IC 12Bryce CampbellLW 11Ryan Matyas FH 10Will Magie SH 9 Nate Augspurger N8 8 Cam Dolan OF 7 Tony Lamborn BF 6 Hanco GermishuysRL 5 Nick CivettaLL 4 Nate Brakeley TP 3 Dino Waldren HK 2 Joe Taufete'e LP 1 Titi Lamositele Replacements:HK 16James Hilterbrand PR 17Huluholo Moungaloa PR 18Angus MacLellan LK 19Ben Landry FL 20Andrew Durutalo SH 21Shaun Davies FH 22Will Hooley CE 23Dylan Audsley Coach: Gary Gold FB 15Gastón AriasRW 14Germán Schulz OC 13Juan Cruz MallíaIC 12Juan Cappiello LW 11Rodrigo EtchartFH 10Juan Cruz González SH 9 Luca MagnascoN8 8 Santiago Montagner OF 7 Lautaro Bavaro (c) BF 6 Rodrigo BruniRL 5 Ignacio LarragueLL 4 Jerónimo Ureta TP 3 Benjamín Espinal HK 2 Gaspar Baldunciel LP 1 Francisco Ferronato Replacements:HK 16Diego Fortuny PR 17Javier Díaz PR 18Santiago Medrano N8 19Santiago Portillo FL 20Francisco Gorrissen SH 21Facundo NogueiraFH 22Tomás Granella WG 23Tomás Malanos Coach: Felipe Contepomi Touch judges: Mike O'Brien (United States) Lee Bryant (United States) Television match official: USA Appt. (United States)
Week 3
FB 15Lucas TranquezRW 14Robert Tenório OC 13Felipe SanceryIC 12Moisés DuqueLW 11Jacobus de Wet van NiekerkFH 10Josh ReevesSH 9 Laurent Bourda-CouhetN8 8 André ArrudaOF 7 Cléber DiasBF 6 Arthur Bergo RL 5 Lucas Piero LL 4 Gabriel PaganiniTP 3 Jardel Vettorato HK 2 Yan Rosetti (c)LP 1 Lucas Abud Replacements:HK 16Endy WillianPR 17Michel Gomes PR 18Wilton Rebolo FL 19Michael MoraesFL 20Matheus Daniel SH 21Will BroderickWG 22Lucas MullerWG 23Ariel Rodrigues Coach: Rodolfo Ambrosio FB 15Rodrigo SilvaRW 14Joaquín PradaOC 13Juan Manuel CatIC 12Agustín Della CorteLW 11Gastón MieresFH 10Andrés de León SH 9 Germán AlbanellN8 8 Alejandro Nieto OF 7 Rodolfo Garese BF 6 Juan Manuel Gaminara (c)RL 5 Diego Magno LL 4 Ignacio DottiTP 3 Mario Sagario HK 2 Germán Kessler LP 1 Mateo Sanguinetti Replacements:PR 16Matías Benítez HK 17Carlos Pombo PR 18Juan Echeverría LK 19Diego Ayala N8 20Manuel Diana FL 21Gonzalo Soto WG 22Tomás Inciarte FH 23Manuel BlengioCoach: Esteban Meneses Touch judges: Murilo Bragotto (Brazil) Cauã Ricardo (Brazil) Television match official: Xavier Vouga (Brazil) Notes: Andrés de León and Tomás Inciarte (both Uruguay) made their international debuts. Juan Manuel Gaminara (Uruguay) earned his 50th test cap.
FB 15Tomás VidelaRW 14Tomás Malanos OC 13Santiago ResinoIC 12Lucas MensaLW 11Julián DominguezFH 10Juan Cruz González SH 9 Facundo Nogueira N8 8 Santiago Portillo OF 7 Tomás de la Vega (c)BF 6 Mariano Romanini RL 5 Diego GalettoLL 4 Jerónimo Ureta TP 3 Lucas FavreHK 2 Diego Fortuny LP 1 Axel Zapata Replacements:HK 16Gaspar Baldunciel PR 17Francisco Ferronato PR 18Santiago Medrano LK 19Franco Molina FL 20Nicolás Sbrocco SH 21Gregorio del Prete FH 22Tomás Granella WG 23Germán Schulz Coach: Felipe Contepomi FB 15Tomás IaniszewskiRW 14Matías Balbontín OC 13Lucca Avelli IC 12Francisco de la FuenteLW 11Ítalo ZuninoFH 10Benjamín Pizarro SH 9 Beltrán Vergara N8 8 Benjamín Soto OF 7 Alfonso Escobar BF 6 Javier Richard (c) RL 5 Mario Mayol LL 4 Manuel DagninoTP 3 Marco Díaz HK 2 Tomás Dussaillant LP 1 Vittorio Lastra Replacements:HK 16Ignacio Guajardo PR 17Sebastián Otero PR 18Claudio Iturra FL 19Thomas Orchard FL 20Nicolás Garafulic SH 21Domingo Saavedra FH 22José Tomás Baraona CE 23Diego Ramírez Coach: Mark Cross Touch judges: Damián Schneider (Argentina) Juan Pablo Federico (Argentina) Television match official: UAR Appt. (Argentina)
FB 15Mike Te'oRW 14Blaine Scully (c)OC 13Dylan Audsley IC 12Bryce CampbellLW 11Ryan Matyas FH 10Will Magie SH 9 Nate Augspurger N8 8 Cam Dolan OF 7 Tony Lamborn BF 6 Hanco Germishuys RL 5 Nick CivettaLL 4 Nate Brakeley TP 3 Dino Waldren HK 2 Joe Taufete'e LP 1 Titi Lamositele Replacements:HK 16James Hilterbrand PR 17Huluholo Moungaloa PR 18Angus MacLellan LK 19Ben Landry FL 20Andrew Durutalo SH 21Shaun Davies FH 22Will Hooley WG 23Josh Whippy Coach: Gary Gold FB 15Pat ParfreyRW 14Brock StallerOC 13Giuseppe du Toit IC 12Nick BlevinsLW 11D. T. H. van der MerweFH 10Shane O'Leary SH 9 Phil Mack (c) N8 8 Luke CampbellOF 7 Matt Heaton BF 6 Lucas RumballRL 5 Kyle Baillie LL 4 Josh LarsenTP 3 Jake Ilnicki HK 2 Ray BarkwillLP 1 Djustice Sears-Duru Replacements:HK 16Martial LagainPR 17Anthony Luca PR 18Cole Keith LK 19Conor Keys FL 20Dustin Dobravsky SH 21Gordon McRorie FH 22Robbie Povey WG 23Cole Davis Coach: Kingsley Jones Touch judges: Derek Summers (United States) Phil Akroyd (United States) Television match official: Marc Nelson (United States) Notes: Josh Whippy (United States) and Luke Campbell, Cole Davis and Dustin Dobravsky (all Canada) made their international debuts. D. T. H. van der Merwe (Canada) earned his 50th test cap.
Week 4
FB 15Mike Te'oRW 14Josh Whippy OC 13Dylan AudsleyIC 12Bryce CampbellLW 11Ryan MatyasFH 10Will Magie SH 9 Nate Augspurger (c) N8 8 Cam DolanOF 7 Tony Lamborn BF 6 Psalm WoochingRL 5 Ben Landry LL 4 Nate BrakeleyTP 3 Dino Waldren HK 2 James Hilterbrand LP 1 Huluholo Moungaloa Replacements:HK 16Dylan Fawsitt PR 17Tony Purpura PR 18Angus MacLellan LK 19Brendan Daly FL 20Malon Al-Jiboori SH 21Ruben de Haas FH 22Ben Cima CE 23Paul Lasike Coach: Gary Gold FB 15Tomás IaniszewskiRW 14Martín RaddatzOC 13Javier LavanderosIC 12Francisco de la Fuente LW 11Ítalo ZuninoFH 10José Tomás Baraona SH 9 Beltrán Vergara N8 8 Benjamín SotoOF 7 Alfonso Escobar BF 6 Javier Richard (c)RL 5 Mario Mayol LL 4 Nikola BursicTP 3 Claudio Iturra HK 2 Tomás Dussaillant LP 1 Vittorio Lastra Replacements:HK 16Rodrigo Moya PR 17Basilio Díaz PR 18Marco Díaz FL 19Thomas Orchard FL 20Iñaki de Urruticoechea SH 21Domingo Saavedra FB 22José Tomás Maturana CE 23Diego Ramírez Coach: Mark Cross Touch judges: USAR Appt (United States) USAR Appt (United States) Television match official: USAR Appt (United States) Notes: Malon Al-Jiboori, Brendan Daly, Ruben de Haas, Dylan Fawsitt, Paul Lasike and Psalm Wooching (all United States) and Iñaki de Urruticoechea, Basilio Díaz, José Tomás Maturana and Martín Raddatz (all Chile) made their international debuts.
FB 15Rodrigo Silva RW 14Leandro LeivasOC 13Juan Manuel Cat IC 12Andrés Vilaseca LW 11Nicolás Freitas FH 10Germán AlbanellSH 9 Tomás InciarteN8 8 Alejandro Nieto (c) OF 7 Manuel Diana BF 6 Rodolfo Garese RL 5 Diego MagnoLL 4 Ignacio DottiTP 3 Juan Echeverría HK 2 Carlos Pombo LP 1 Mateo Sanguinetti Replacements:PR 16Matías Benítez HK 17Diego de PazosPR 18Mario Sagario N8 19Juan Diego Ormaechea FL 21Juan Manuel Gaminara FL 20Gonzalo Soto CE 22Joaquín Prada FH 23Andrés de León Coach: Esteban Meneses FB 15Juan Cruz MallíaRW 14Germán SchulzOC 13Santiago Álvarez IC 12Juan CappielloLW 11Rodrigo EtchartFH 10Juan Cruz González SH 9 Luca Magnasco N8 8 Rodrigo Bruni OF 7 Lautaro Bavaro (c)BF 6 Francisco GorrissenRL 5 Ignacio LarragueLL 4 Diego Galetto TP 3 Benjamín Espinal HK 2 Diego Fortuny LP 1 Francisco Ferronato Replacements:HK 16Gaspar Baldunciel PR 17Axel Zapata PR 18Santiago Medrano N8 19Santiago Portillo FL 20Santiago Montagner SH 21Gregorio del Prete CE 22Lucas Mensa CE 23Tomás Videla Coach: Felipe Contepomi Touch judges: Rodrigo Goyret (Uruguay) Gonzalo Ventoso (Uruguay) Television match official: URU Appt (Uruguay)