Other competitions organized by the URBA are "Universitario" (with 22 University teams playing in two divisions), "Femenino" (16 female teams in two divisions), and "Empresarial" (27 teams in two divisions). [5] In 1951, the change of name to Spanish "Unión Argentina de Rugby", was after a request by the Argentine Olympic committee and it continued at the same time to work as local federation of Buenos Aires clubs, and national federation, recognized by International Rugby Board. Another popular club in zona norte is San Isidro. The rematch was played in Buenos Aires in 1869, where BACC defeated Montevideo again by 174–121. Buenos Aires would move again that same year to San Fernando, Buenos Aires, where it has remained up to present days. Página Oficial de B.A.C.R.C en Facebook. Primera A to Segunda have 14 teams competing in each division, while there are 12 teams in Tercera and 11 in Desarrollo.[6]. This means that talented Argentine players can play in the best and toughest competition in the world on a regular basis, which bodes well for the future of the national side. If you happen to be in Buenos Aires when a game is being played there, don’t pass up the opportunity to check it out. If you’re keen to have a truly local experience, head to one of Buenos Aires province’s many rugby clubs. As a result of a restructuring of the Argentine rugby in 1995, the "Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires" was created with the purpose of organising competitions in the city district and nearest towns like San Isidro and La Plata, while the remaining part of the Buenos Aires Province (including populous cities like Mar del Plata or Tandil) remained under other provincial unions. BACC won by 156–124. Approaching its 100th birthday, this athletics organisation is written into the history books of Argentine club rugby, and has a long and colourful past. [7][8], Rugby union rules were first adopted by Buenos Aires FC in 1874[1] but the club was dissolved one year later. This upper-middle class suburb is home to lots of Buenos Aires’ rugby players, and you can check out the crime drama El Clan for a better idea of what life in this area is like, and how one family from San Isidro became involved in a life of crime that involved a local rugby team and its players. [14], In 2007 the club inaugurated its synthetic grass hockey field in San Fernando. Therefore, the RPRU championship was renamed "Torneo de la URBA" and continued with the same format, while the Argentine Union (UAR) took over national teams only. For years to come both clubs would share facilities and members with the BACC playing cricket in the summer and BAFC playing football in the winter. Buenos Aires won 8 of the first 15 editions of this tournament. El Hindu is an important rugby club located in the Don Torcuato neighbourhood in the northern zone of Buenos Aires. The Buenos Aires Rugby Union (Spanish: Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires), usually referred as URBA, is the Argentine governing body that organises and controls the rugby union in the Buenos Aires Province (including the main district, Buenos Aires autonomous city and one team from Rosario, Santa Fé). The club stayed there until 1987, when the lands were sold to Hindú Club. Sumate! [note 1], A highlight of club's history was in 1951 when the Buenos Aires FC (established in 1886 as a rugby union club and founder member of the "River Plate Rugby Championship" (now the Argentine Rugby Union[6]) merged to BACC, renaming "Buenos Aires Cricket & Rugby Club". The remaining clubs from the province are distributed amongst four other unions: Unión de Rugby del Oeste de Buenos Aires in the west, Unión de Rugby del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires in the centre, Unión de Rugby de Mar del Plata in the east, and Unión de Rugby del Sur in the south. José Amalfitani Stadium is where both the Argentine national team Los Pumas and rugby’s most popular professional club Jaguares play. Since then, rugby union became the main sport of the institution.[1]. During the decades of the 1920, 1930 and 1940 the club would not win any title, finding strong resistance in younger clubs; such as CA San Isidro and San Isidro Club, which have won most of the URBA titles to date. BACRC's itself states the date of foundation "before 8 December 1864". The first Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires championship was created the same year. Here are the best places to watch rugby in Buenos Aires capital and province. The exact date of establishment of the "Buenos Aires Cricket Club" is not clear because of the fire that destroyed most of the club's facilities and its archives. Some require payment, but some are free, so get yourself down to the club early to enjoy some delicious Argentine treats such as a lomito sandwich and some local Quilmes beer to wash it down with. This is also a good shout if it is raining, as no one in Buenos Aires sets foot outside the house during inclement weather, so take a duvet day and stream the rugby from your bed. In 1997 BACRC inaugurated the first purpose-built rugby union stadium in Argentina, erected in Los Polvorines, Greater Buenos Aires.