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Report: New international competition set to pit Asia-Pacific against Americas
By Sam Smith
A new international rugby competition lined up for 2024 could see the best tier-two teams from Asia-Pacific take on their counterparts from the Americas.
Alan Gilpin, the CEO of World Rugby, recently confirmed that while the Americas Rugby Championship is not set to make a return anytime soon, the likes of recent World Cup qualifiers Uruguay and Chile won't be left in the cold when it comes to getting opportunities to play similar strength nations.
Plans are in the advanced stages for an “Asia Pacific Americas competition that will see USA, Canada, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina etc playing regularly," Gilpin told The Guardian.
According to Uruguayan news outlet El Observador, the proposed competition will see the top four tier-two sides in the Americas - USA, Canada, Chile and Uruguay - take on the likes of Fiji, Samoa, Japan and Tonga during the mid-year test window at the same time the Rugby Championship takes place.
Teams would be split between an Asia-Pacific pool and an Americas pool, with each team facing off with their opposition from within the same pool before taking part in two weeks of finals action.
While Japan and Fiji have been on a quest to stake out a top-level tier-one competition to regularly participate in, it appears that the current model will see the Rugby Championship remain a tournament between New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina, with the new 'Americas Pacific Asia Championship' effectively operating as a second division.
It would also take the place of the Pacific Nations Cup, which was reintroduced this year for the first time since 2019 and took place during the July test window. By replacing that tournament with one that would kick off a month later in August, it would ensure the likes of Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and Japan could fully partake in the normal test series that populate July.
Although Japan may yet look to link up with the Rugby Championship in the longer-team, it's likely believed that the APAC would pave the way for higher quality games for both the Asia-Pacific and Americas regions - including Japan - without compromising the teams that aren't quite up to the same level at present, such as Chile, the USA and Canada.
For the latter two sides, the new competition could prove to be hugely beneficial, given their slide in the world standings which has seen Canada miss out on playing in the 2023 Rugby World Cup and USA's chances poised on a knife-edge after their defeat at the hands of Chile. Regular matches against the likes of the Pacific Island sides - as was typical in years gone by - should help to bring their tests sides back up to standard ahead of the 2031 World Cup which will take place in the USA.
On the other side of the coin, the rumoured APAC tournament would be a disappointing outcome for Brazil and other South American sides that are slowly developing their games, as it would leave them on the outers.
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You have to have dreams to reach for the stars, but without believing it, it won't ever happen. It's one thing to say things to the media, quite another to believe what you regurgitate just for the journalists and the public. No one is fooled, and it's the one game they knew Wales will get smashed. The Boks won 10 games without being at their best. Even on their baddest day they will smash this Wales team.
I don't really blame the players. I blame the WRU. Their best players is not available due to restrictions, small change as pay and an overly believe in their own power that amounts to nothing. Get rid of them and Gatland, and maybe their will be an upwards curve. They will lose against the Boks, and also all the games in the 6N if they keep the current board. Italy will be able to smash them.
Go to commentsFrance is starting to look like they are finally over their WC headache, although they were lucky that NZ had a very bad game. The Argies as usual is one game good, the next bad. If they can sort that out and be more consistent, they could become contenders for the WC.
NZ, Argentina (if they are more consistent), and now the Wallabies too is in an upward curve (can they be consistent?), as well as Fiji(as inconsistent as Argentina) looks like possible contenders. The Boks will be as usual a huge threat to defend their title. Things are looking up for the South, so the North should rightfully beware of the Southern Hemisphere threat.
With the French looking dangerous, the English with their close runs (mostly a mindset problem) and the Scottish seems to be the NH main contenders. The Irish is good, but not excellent anymore. They are more overbearing and with their glory days mostly gone with old players hanging on by a thread, by 2027 if they don't start adding in the younger players, they won't make it past yet another WC Quarter final. The problem is that their youngsters, while good is nothing special.
That is just 8 teams without the Irish that can become real WC contenders. Lots of hickups to be sorted still for these teams, excluding the Boks to become a threat. Make no mistake, the top Tier is much closer than people realise and the 2027 WC will be a really great WC, possibly the best contended WC ever.
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