Unión de Rugby de Rosario

The Rosario Rugby Union (Spanish: Unión de Rugby de Rosario) is the organisational body that controls the game of rugby union in Rosario, in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. The rest of Santa Fe province teams are organised under the Unión Santafesina de Rugby.

Unión de Rugby de Rosario
SportRugby union
JurisdictionRosario, Santa Fe
AbbreviationURR
Founded1927 (1927)
(as "Santa Fe Rugby Union")
AffiliationUAR
Affiliation date1953 [1]
HeadquartersRosario
PresidentLucas Diez [2]
SecretarySergio Tizón [2]
Official website
urr.org.ar

Best placed teams of RRU qualify to play the Torneo del Litoral, along with clubs from Santa Fe and Entre Ríos unions.

History

The first rugby game in Argentina took place on 28 June 1886, between Rosario A.C. (current "Atlético del Rosario") and Buenos Aires F.C..[3] On 12 July a second game was played between both clubs, Buenos Aires FC being the winner.[4]

The British Isles team playing a Universitario–Gimnasia y Esgrima combined in Plaza Jewell, Rosario, on 3 August 1927

In 1927 the British Isles team arrived to Rosario to play a match against a combined team formed by players of porteños clubs Universitario and Gimnasia y Esgrima due to the impossibility of joining a competitive team with the small number of players in Rosario. Players of both teams arrived in Rosario after a long journey by train from Retiro to Rosario Norte station, the same day of the match. Held in Plaza Jewell, home venue of Club Atlético del Rosario, the Lions defeated the combined team by 24–0 in a rainy day. The game (won by the British) was the first international game played at the city of Rosario.

One year later, Atlético del Rosario, Universitario, Gimnasia y Esgrima, Provincial, Newell's Old Boys and defunct Deportivo Argentino founded the "Santa Fe Rugby Union". That same year the recently formed union played a game against a team from the River Plate Rugby Union (current Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires), won by the visitor by 8–6.

In 1923 the official tournaments organised by the union began to be disputed. In 1932 the Union team played its first international match facing South Africa. The Springboks defeated Santa Fe 53-3. That same year the Union changed its name to "Unión de Rugby del Litoral Argentino", adding teams from the cities of Santa Fe and Entre Ríos.

In 1953 the union changed to its current name, "Unión de Rugby del Rosario", achieving its greatest goal in 1965 when winning the Campeonato Argentino. The Rosario union team toured outside Argentina for the first time in 1993, visiting England. Two years later the team played some friendly matches in New Zealand.

Since 1993, the Unión de Rugby de Rosario teams have taken part in the Nacional de Clubes tournament. They also were added to Torneo del Interior in 1998, and they were added to Torneo del Litoral (along with Santa Fe and Entre Ríos unions teams) in 2000.[1]

Union team
URR team kit

The union is represented in the Campeonato Argentino, a competition in which each of the 24 unions that make up the Unión Argentina de Rugby (UAR) participate. Rosario won the competition on one occasion in 1965, winning 8-6 against Buenos Aires, and have finished second a further 16 times, all but 4 finals were lost to Buenos Aires.

Titles

Members

As of 2018 there are 15 affiliated member clubs, including Atlético del Rosario, although it competes in the Buenos Aires Rugby Union championships as founding member of the Argentine Rugby Union established in 1899.

The URR has clubs from different cities of Santa Fe, Córdoba and even Buenos Aires provinces, they are:[5]

Club City
Atlético del Rosario [note 1]Rosario
BelgranoSan Nicolás [note 2]
Los CaranchosRosario
DuendesRosario
Gimnasia y EsgrimaRosario
Jockey ClubRosario
Jockey ClubVenado Tuerto
LogaritmoRosario
Los PampasRufino
Los PingüinosPergamino [note 2]
Old ResianRosario
ProvincialRosario
RegatasSan Nicolás [note 2]
UniversitarioRosario
Atlético MunicipalMarcos Juárez [note 3]
Notes
  1. As founding member of the Argentine Rugby Union in 1899, the club takes part of competitions organised by Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires (URBA).
  2. City in Buenos Aires Province
  3. City in Córdoba Province.

Competitions

URR clubs (with the exception of Atlético del Rosario) compete in the annual Torneo del Litoral, an inter-provincial competition that also includes teams from the neighboring unions of Santa Fe and Entre Ríos. The Litoral competition has been dominated by Rosario clubs over the years with all but one titles going to Rosarino clubs.

In the past, clubs from Rosario used to take part in a Rosario provincial championship. Since 2000 however, the inter-provincial Litoral competition has taken over and the provincial tournament is no longer played at the superior level. Provincial competitions still exist for clubs at underage level however.

Clubs from Rosario have also enjoyed some success in the national club tournament. Jockey Club (1997) and Duendes (2004, 2009) have won the competition, and both have reached the final in other tournaments.

References
  1. Historia de la URR - official website
  2. Comisiones on URR, 25 July 2019
  3. "Cuando el Rosario Athletic salió campeón... de fútbol" - CIHF Archived 2014-04-18 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Historia del Club" at BACRC website
  5. Clubes afiliados on URR website, 25 June 2018
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