Top 12
Organising body
  • URBA (1995–Present)
  • UAR (1899–1994)
Founded1899 (1899)
RegionBuenos Aires Province
Rosario
Number of teams12
Qualifier forNacional de Clubes
Related competitionsTorneo del Interior
Current championsSan Isidro Club (2023)
Most successful club(s)C.A. San Isidro
(33 titles)
Television broadcastersESPN
Websiteurba.org.ar/top-12

Te

The URBA Top 12 (formerly "Torneo de la URBA")[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 13 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 take part in Top 12 as founding member of the UAR. The other clubs from Rosario compete in tournaments organised by the Rosario governing body.

History

The first trophy awarded to the winning team. It debuted in 1899

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]

Format

The tournament will start on March 25, 2023, with the 12 participant teams playing a double round-robin tournament, which will end on October 15. The four best placed clubs will qualify to the semifinals (played as single matches in neutral venues) on October 29 and 30. Winners will play the final (also a single match) at Club Atlético San Isidro stadium, frecquent venue for URBA finals, on November 5, 2022.

The seven best placed teams in the general table will qualify for Torneo Nacional de Clubes, the main competition of Argentine rugby, which is made up of 9 teams from the rest of the provinces of Argentina and the seven from URBA. [1]

Clubs

Teams competing at Top 12 in the 2024 seasons will be:[13]

Club Venue Estab. Titles
AlumniTortuguitas
1951
6
Atlético del RosarioRosario
1867
5
Buenos AiresSan Fernando
1864
BelgranoBelgrano
1896
11
C.A. San IsidroSan Isidro
1902
33
ChampagnatPilar
1956
0
HindúDon Torcuato
1919
11
La PlataLa Plata
1934
1
NewmanBenavídez
1979
0
RegatasBella Vista
1895
0
San Isidro ClubBoulogne
1935
27
San LuisLa Plata
1961
0
Universitario (BA)Villa de Mayo
1918
15

Former clubs

Disaffiliated or defunct clubs:

Club Field Estab. Years Titles Fate
Flores A.C.Caballito18931899
–
Dissolved in 1907 [14]
Buenos Aires F.C.Palermo18861899–1951
8
Merged with Buenos Aires Cricket Club in 1951 [15]

Champions

The complete list of champions is detailed below:[5][16]

Tournament names
  • 1899–1994: "River Plate Rugby Union Championship"
  • 1995–2008: "Torneo de la URBA"
  • 2009–2016: "Top 14"
  • 2017–2020: "Top 12"
Tournament format
  • 1900–1997: the team with most points earned was declared champion
  • 1899, 1995–present: final match to decide a champion
Ed. Season Champion/s Score Runner-up
1
1899Lomas (1)
3–0
Atlético del Rosario
2
1900Buenos Aires FC[n 2] (1)––
3
1901Buenos Aires FC (2)
– [n 3]
–
4
1902Buenos Aires FC (3)
– [n 3]
–
5
1903Buenos Aires FC (4)
– [n 3]
–
6
1904Buenos Aires FC (5)
– [n 3]
–
7
1905Atlético del Rosario (1)
– [n 3]
–
8
1906Atlético del Rosario (2)
– [n 3]
–
9
1907Belgrano (1)
– [n 3]
–
10
1908Buenos Aires FC (6)
– [n 3]
–
11
1909Buenos Aires FC (7)
– [n 3]
–
12
1910 Belgrano (2)
– [n 3]
–
13
1911Gimnasia y Esgrima (BA) (1)
– [n 3]
–
14
1912Gimnasia y Esgrima (BA) (2)
– [n 3]
–
15
1913Lomas (2)
– [n 3]
–
16
1914Belgrano (3)
– [n 3]
–
17
1915Buenos Aires FC (8)
– [n 3]
–
18
1916(No championship held)
19
1917CA San Isidro (1)
– [n 3]
–
20
1918CA San Isidro (2)
– [n 3]
–
21
1919(No championship held)
22
1920CA San Isidro (3)
– [n 3]
–
23
1921CA San Isidro (4)[n 4]
– [n 3]
–
Belgrano (4)[n 4]
24
1922CA San Isidro (5)
– [n 3]
–
25
1923CA San Isidro (6)
– [n 3]
–
26
1924CA San Isidro (7)
– [n 3]
–
27
1925CA San Isidro (8)
– [n 3]
–
28
1926CA San Isidro (9)
– [n 3]
–
29
1927CA San Isidro (10)
– [n 3]
–
30
1928CA San Isidro (11)
– [n 3]
–
31
1929CA San Isidro (12)
– [n 3]
–
32
1930CA San Isidro (13)
– [n 3]
–
33
1931CUBA (1)
– [n 3]
–
34
1932Gimnasia y Esgrima (BA) (3)
– [n 3]
–
35
1933CA San Isidro (14)
– [n 3]
–
36
1934CA San Isidro (15)
– [n 3]
–
37
1935Atlético del Rosario (3)
– [n 3]
–
38
1936Belgrano (5)
– [n 3]
–
39
1937Old Georgian (1)
– [n 3]
–
40
1938Old Georgian (2)
– [n 3]
–
41
1939Old Georgian (3)[n 4]
– [n 3]
–
Gimnasia y Esgrima (BA) (4)[n 4]
San Isidro Club (1)[n 4]
42
1940Belgrano (6)
– [n 3]
–
Olivos (1)
43
1941San Isidro Club (2)
– [n 3]
–
44
1942CUBA (2)
– [n 3]
–
45
1943CA San Isidro (16)
– [n 3]
–
46
1944CUBA (3)
– [n 3]
–
47
1945CUBA (4)
– [n 3]
–
48
1946Pucará (1)
– [n 3]
–
49
1947CUBA (5)
– [n 3]
–
50
1948San Isidro Club (3)
– [n 3]
–
51
1949CA San Isidro (17)[n 4]
– [n 3]
–
CUBA (6)[n 4]
52
1950CUBA (7)[n 4]
– [n 3]
–
Pucará (2)[n 4]
53
1951CUBA (8)
– [n 3]
–
54
1952CUBA (9)
– [n 3]
–
55
1953Obras (1)
– [n 3]
–
56
1954CA San Isidro (18)
– [n 3]
–
57
1955CA San Isidro (19)
– [n 3]
–
58
1956CA San Isidro (20)
– [n 3]
–
59
1957CA San Isidro (21)
– [n 3]
–
60
1958Buenos Aires CRC (1)[n 5]––
61
1959Buenos Aires CRC (2)[n 5]
– [n 3]
–
62
1960CA San Isidro (22)
– [n 3]
–
63
1961CA San Isidro (23)
– [n 3]
–
64
1962CA San Isidro (24)
– [n 3]
–
65
1963Belgrano (7)
– [n 3]
–
66
1964CA San Isidro (25)
– [n 3]
–
67
1965CUBA (10)
– [n 3]
–
68
1966Belgrano (8)
– [n 3]
–
69
1967Belgrano (9)
– [n 3]
–
CA San Isidro (26)
70
1968Belgrano (10)[n 4]
– [n 3]
–
CUBA (11)[n 4]
71
1969CUBA (12)
– [n 3]
–
72
1970CUBA (13)[n 4]
– [n 3]
–
San Isidro Club (4)[n 4]
73
1971San Isidro Club (5)
– [n 3]
–
74
1972San Isidro Club (6)
– [n 3]
–
75
1973San Isidro Club (7)
– [n 3]
–
76
1974CA San Isidro (27)
– [n 3]
–
77
1975CA San Isidro (28)
– [n 3]
–
78
1976CA San Isidro (29)
– [n 3]
–
79
1977San Isidro Club (8)
– [n 3]
–
80
1978San Isidro Club (9)
– [n 3]
–
81
1979San Isidro Club (10)
– [n 3]
–
82
1980San Isidro Club (11)
– [n 3]
–
83
1981CA San Isidro (30)
– [n 3]
–
84
1982CA San Isidro (31)
– [n 3]
–
85
1983San Isidro Club (12)
– [n 3]
–
86
1984San Isidro Club (13)
– [n 3]
–
87
1985CA San Isidro (32)
– [n 3]
–
88
1986San Isidro Club (14)[n 4]
– [n 3]
–
Banco Nación (1)[n 4]
89
1987San Isidro Club (15)
– [n 3]
–
90
1988San Isidro Club (16)
– [n 3]
–
91
1989Alumni (1)[n 4]
– [n 3]
–
Banco Nación (2)[n 4]
92
1990Alumni (2)
– [n 3]
–
93
1991Alumni (3)
– [n 3]
–
94
1992Alumni (4)
– [n 3]
–
95
1993San Isidro Club (17)
– [n 3]
–
96
1994San Isidro Club (18)––
97
1995La Plata (1)
– [n 3]
–
98
1996Hindú (1)[n 4]
– [n 3]
–
Atlético del Rosario (4)[n 4]
99
1997San Isidro Club (19)
– [n 3]
–
100
1998Hindú (2)
38–12
San Isidro Club
101
1999 San Isidro Club (20)
14–9
Atlético del Rosario
102
2000Atlético del Rosario (5)
35–32
CA San Isidro
103
2001Alumni (5)(No final held) [n 6]
104
2002San Isidro Club (21)
16–10
Regatas
105
2003San Isidro Club (22)
20–9
CA San Isidro
106
2004San Isidro Club (23)
36–16
Alumni
107
2005CA San Isidro (33)
18–17
San Isidro Club
108
2006Hindú (3)
20–5
Alumni
109
2007Hindú (4)
9–6
Alumni
110
2008Hindú (5)
22–10
Newman
111
2009Hindú (6)
31–22
CA San Isidro
112
2010San Isidro Club (24)
30–22
La Plata
113
2011San Isidro Club (25)
14–11
Alumni
114
2012Hindú (7)
15–9
La Plata
115
2013CUBA (14)
11–9
Hindú
116
2014Hindú (8)
29–17
CUBA
117
2015Hindú (9)
24–0
CUBA
118
2016Belgrano (11)
25–10
Hindú
119
2017Hindú (10)
27–20
Alumni
120
2018Alumni (6)
26–17
Hindú
121
2019San Isidro Club (26)
22–19
Belgrano
–
2020
(not held because of the covid-19 pandemic)
122
2021CUBA (15)
10–9
San Isidro Club
123
2022Hindú (11)
30–25
San Isidro Club
124
2023San Isidro Club (27)
15–12
Alumni
Notes
  1. ↑ Eight of those titles were won by predecessor Buenos Aires F.C., which merged to the BACC in 1951 becoming the rugby section of the club.
  2. ↑ Rugby union club founded in 1886. It merged to Buenos Aires Cricket Club in 1951, also becoming the rugby section of that institution.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 Played in a round-robin format, champion decided on points.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Title shared.
  5. 1 2 The rugby section of the Buenos Aires Cricket Club is the former Buenos Aires F.C. team that merged to the institution in 1951.
  6. ↑ Alumni crowned champion during the regular season, more precisely in the 11th. fixture when the team defeated CA San Isidro by 16-13.

Titles by club

Team Titles Years won
CA San Isidro
33
1917, 1918, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1934, 1943, 1949, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1981, 1982, 1985, 2005
San Isidro Club
27
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, 2023
CUBA
15
1931, 1942, 1944, 1945, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1965, 1968, 1969, 1970, 2013, 2021
Belgrano A.C.
11
1907, 1910, 1914, 1921, 1936, 1940, 1963, 1966, 1967, 1968, 2016
Hindú
11
1996, 1998, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2022
Buenos Aires F.C. [n2 1]
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 [n2 2]
2
1958, 1959
Banco Nación
2
1986, 1989
Olivos
1
1940
Obras Sanitarias
1
1953
La Plata
1
1995
Notes
  1. ↑ The club merged to Buenos Aires CRC in 1951.
  2. ↑ Buenos Aires CRC usually counts the titles won by the BAFC as their own, after both clubs merged in 1951.

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).

References

  1. 1 2 El URBA Top 13 tiene fixture confirmado para la temporada 2022 on ESPN Argentina, Dec 2021
  2. 1 2 3 "Hechos históricos de la Unión" at UAR website Archived 19 February 2013 at archive.today
  3. ↑ La URBA presenta el fixture para el Top 12 del 2019, Marca, 7 Dec 2018
  4. 1 2 Fundación del River Plate Rugby Union Championship on Atlético del Rosario website, 18 Apr 2019
  5. 1 2 "Historia de la Unión" at URBA website
  6. ↑ "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
  7. ↑ "Alumni: un campeón con el sacrificio como principal aliado" by Diego Mazzei on La Nación, 16 Sep 2001
  8. 1 2 El torneo de la URBA da un abrupto giro a partir de 2017, La Nación, 20 May 2016
  9. ↑ "Se realizó el lanzamiento del URBA TOP 14", 19 May 2014
  10. ↑ La Voz - La UAR anunció el nuevo formato para el Torneo Nacional de Clubes, La Voz, 16 May 2014
  11. ↑ El Torneo de la URBA se renueva: arranca el Top 12, con una mayor competitividad y grandes partidos, La Nación, 29 Apr 2017
  12. ↑ Cambios en la URBA para los torneos de 2017, ESPN Scrum, 19 May 2016
  13. ↑ Todos los ascensos y descensos en las categorías de la URBA at ESPN, 18 Nov 2023
  14. ↑ Una investigación sobre la Historia del Flores Athletic Club, Rubén Ayala, C.E.H.R., Buenos Aires (1997)
  15. ↑ ""Historia del Club" – BACRC official site". Archived from the original on 13 September 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  16. ↑ URBA: Todos los campeones – "A Pleno Rugby" website
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