Torneo de la URBA
| Organising body | URBA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1899 |
| Region | Buenos Aires Province, Rosario |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Qualifier for | Nacional de Clubes |
| Related competitions | Torneo del Interior |
| Current champions | San Isidro Club (2019) |
| Most successful club(s) | C.A. San Isidro (33 titles) |
| Television broadcasters | ESPN |
| Website | Top 12 |
The URBA Top 12 (formerly "Torneo de la URBA", named "Top 12 – Copa DirecTV" for sponsorship reasons)[1] is an Argentine rugby union club competition organised by the Buenos Aires Rugby Union (URBA). It is the top division of the Argentine rugby league system. Created on 10 April 1899 by the "River Plate Rugby Union" (current Argentine Rugby Union – UAR),[2] the Top 12 is the oldest rugby competition in South America and one of the oldest club competitions in the world.
Top 12 is one of the country's two main club competitions, along with Torneo del Interior, where clubs from the rest of the Provinces of Argentina take part. The championship runs from March to October.[3]
Despite being from the city of Rosario in Santa Fe Province, Atlético del Rosario has taken part of Top 12 as founding member of the UAR. The other clubs from Rosario compete in tournaments organised by the Rosario governing body.
History[]
The River Plate Rugby Union was established in Buenos Aires on 10 April 1899, being its founding members Buenos Aires, Belgrano, Lomas and Flores[4] from Buenos Aires, and Rosario A.C. from Rosario. The first president of the body was Leslie Corry Smith.[2]
That same year, the RPRU organised the first edition of the Buenos Aires' inter-club competition, which inaugural winner team was Lomas. In 1931 the union name was translated into Spanish "Unión de Rugby del Río de la Plata", that remained until 1951 when the union took the definitive "Unión Argentina de Rugby" (UAR).[2]
The first trophy awarded to champions was acquired to British goldsmith Elkington & Son through their representatives in Argentina, C.R. Simons & Co., for a price of guinea 100. Built with Greek style, the trophy displayed a scene of a rugby match, with the legends "River Plate Rugby Union Championship" and "1899". The cup was mounted on an ebony base with little silver badges, where the name of the champion would be engraved year-by-year. Most of the money for its acquisition came from the Rosario A.C. members.[4]
As a result of a reorganization of the UAR in 1995, the Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires was created to take over the tournament, being named "Torneo de la URBA".[5] From then on, the UAR focused only on national teams while the URBA took over club competitions.
Until 1997 a league system was used, if two or more clubs finished with the same number of points they would share the title. This happened several times, including in 1939 when a record 3 clubs had to share the title. To remedy this, a play-off system leading to a grand final was instaured in 1998. This new system has been in use since then, except in 2001.[6][7]
In 1998, the URBA introduced the playoff system, with a final match in a neutral venue to determine a unique champion of the season.[8] New changes to the rules were added in 2008, when the fourteen best placed teams at the end of the regular season were eligible to play a second stage, named "Top 14".[9] Every club played each other only once in a single-robin championship (either home or away). At the end of this phase, the first 4 clubs qualified for the semi-finals of the tournament, with the first ranked team meeting the fourth and the second meeting the third. Both semi-finals took place on the same weekend on neutral ground (usually the Club Atlético San Isidro stadium). The winner was crowned URBA champion. This system has remained (with minor changes) since then. The rest of the clubs played in a promotion and relegation competition named "Torneo Reubicación".
Both the URBA winner and runner-up qualified for the Nacional de Clubes semi-finals, where they met the winner and runner-up of Torneo del Interior.[10] The winner of that competition was declared Argentine champion.
In 2016, the URBA introduced changes in the tournament's format for the 2017 season, with the "Top 14" being reduced to 12 teams (therefore renamed "Top 12") and becoming an independent championship, with all of the teams playing each other in a double round-robin tournament (home and away games).[11]
As a result of those changes, the Buenos Aires league system was divided into six tiers.[12] The new format also stated that the four best placed teams at the end of the season, would play the semifinals while the two worst placed would be relegated to the second division.[8]
Clubs[]
Current (2021)[]
Teams competing at Top 12 in the 2021 season are:[13]
| Club | Venue | Estab. | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alumni | Tortuguitas | 1951 |
6
|
| Buenos Aires | San Fernando | 1864 |
10 [note 1] |
| Belgrano | Belgrano | 1896 |
11
|
| C.A. San Isidro | San Isidro | 1902 |
33
|
| Hindú | Don Torcuato | 1919 |
10
|
| Newman | Benavídez | 1979 |
0
|
| Pucará | Burzaco | 1943 |
2
|
| Regatas | Bella Vista | 1895 |
0
|
| San Isidro Club | Boulogne | 1935 |
25
|
| San Luis | La Plata | 1961 |
0
|
| Los Tilos | La Plata | 1944 |
0
|
| CUBA | Villa de Mayo | 1918 |
14
|
Former clubs[]
Disaffiliated or defunct clubs:
| Club | Location | Found. | Tenure | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flores A.C. | Caballito | 1893 | 1899 | 0 |
| Buenos Aires F.C. | Palermo | 1886 | 1899–1951 [note 2] | 8 |
Champions[]
The complete list of champions is detailed below:[5][14] Starting in 1998, a final match in a neutral venue is played to determine a unique champion of the season.
Titles by club[]
| Team | Titles | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| CA San Isidro | 33 |
1917, 1918, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1928, 1930, 1933, 1934, 1943, 1949, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1981, 1982, 1985, 2005 |
| San Isidro Club | 26 |
1939, 1941, 1948, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2019 |
| CUBA | 14 |
1931, 1942, 1944, 1945, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1965, 1968, 1969, 1970, 2013 |
| Belgrano A.C. | 11 |
1907, 1910, 1914, 1921, 1936, 1940, 1963, 1966, 1967, 1968, 2016 |
| Hindú | 10 |
1996, 1998, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017 |
| Buenos Aires F.C. [note 3] | 8 |
1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1908, 1909, 1915 |
| Alumni | 6 |
1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2001, 2018 |
| Atlético del Rosario | 5 |
1905, 1906, 1935, 1996, 2000 |
| Gimnasia y Esgrima (BA) | 4 |
1911, 1912, 1932, 1939 |
| Old Georgian | 3 |
1937, 1938, 1939 |
| Lomas | 2 |
1899, 1913 |
| Pucará | 2 |
1946, 1950 |
| Buenos Aires CRC [note 5] | 2 |
1958, 1959 |
| Banco Nación | 2 |
1986, 1989 |
| Olivos | 1 |
1940 |
| Obras Sanitarias | 1 |
1953 |
| La Plata | 1 |
1995 |
Broadcasters Rights[]
The exclusive rights of Torneo de la URBA are broadcast live on ESPN Extra Saturday at 13:15 and are broadcast delayed on ESPN 2 at 17:30. In the Scrum are broadcast highlights of match Saturday at 23:00 (local time of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay), 22:00 (local time of Chile) and 21:00 (local time of Peru).
Notes[]
- ^ Eight of those titles were won by the Buenos Aires F.C., which merged to the BACC in 1951 becoming the rugby section of the club.
- ^ Merged with Buenos Aires Cricket Club in 1951
- ^ Jump up to: a b Rugby union club founded in 1886. It merged to Buenos Aires Cricket Club in 1951, also becoming the rugby section of that institution.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c The rugby section of the Buenos Aires Cricket Club is the former Buenos Aires F.C. team that merged to the institution in 1951.
- ^ Alumni crowned champion during the regular season, more precisely in the 11th. fixture when the team defeated CA San Isidro by 16-13.
References[]
- ^ URBA Top 12 Copa DirecTV on ESPN Scrum, 25 Nov 2018
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Hechos históricos de la Unión" at UAR website Archived 19 February 2013 at archive.today
- ^ La URBA presenta el fixture para el Top 12 del 2019, Marca, 7 Dec 2018
- ^ Jump up to: a b Fundación del River Plate Rugby Union Championship on Atlético del Rosario website, 18 Apr 2019
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Historia de la Unión" at URBA website
- ^ "11er partido (15 de septiembre): C.A.S.I. 13 – 16 Alumni" at Alumni official web Archived 29 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine, 15 Sep 2001
- ^ "Alumni: un campeón con el sacrificio como principal aliado" by Diego Mazzei on La Nación, 16 Sep 2001
- ^ Jump up to: a b El torneo de la URBA da un abrupto giro a partir de 2017, La Nación, 20 May 2016
- ^ "Se realizó el lanzamiento del URBA TOP 14", 19 May 2014
- ^ La Voz - La UAR anunció el nuevo formato para el Torneo Nacional de Clubes, La Voz, 16 May 2014
- ^ El Torneo de la URBA se renueva: arranca el Top 12, con una mayor competitividad y grandes partidos, La Nación, 29 Apr 2017
- ^ Cambios en la URBA para los torneos de 2017, ESPN Scrum, 19 May 2016
- ^ Top 12 Fixture on URBA website
- ^ URBA: Todos los campeones – "A Pleno Rugby" website
External links[]
- Rugby union competitions in Argentina
- Rugby union tournaments for clubs
- Sports leagues established in 1899
- 1899 establishments in Argentina