South American Cup : 2018

In the men's game, Brazil, Argentina and Colombia men played for the Regional Championship. Last year Chile was also involved but this year they had to compete for World Cup qualification in the USA so their non-attendance was understandable.

Men's South American Cup:

23rd November. Sao Paulo, Brazil

Brazil 52-14 Colombia

The Confederação Brasileira de Rugby League won their first ever RL match in defeating the Colombia Rugby League XIII in the opening round of the Federación Latinoamericana de Rugby League. It would have helped Brazil that Colombia only had twelve players and no interchange substitutes due to delays in travel. Still, you can only play what's in front of you.

24th November. Sao Paulo, Brazil

Argentina 28-16 Colombia

Colombia had to back up one day later against an Argentina side comprised of players from the Entre Rios region.

25th November. Sao Paulo, Brazil

Brazil 22-20 Argentina

The hosts added to their tally of one international win with another, just two days after the first one. Brazil did have a break of one day between fixtures, whereas Argentina had to play on two consecutive days. I guess the host should get a slightly better draw. It may not have made a difference.

Below is the brief history of the cup.

	LATIN AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP
	YEAR	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
	2017	Chile	Argentina	Colombia	Brazil
	2018	Brazil	Argentina	Colombia	-

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In the women’s South American Cup, Brazil and Argentina played in the first full sanctioned Women’s Rugby League International to take place in Latin America. Brazil was victorious 48-0. (more on this game and the other 2018 women's matches can be seen by clicking here).

Women's International RL Matches : 2018

As the men's game is still short on international matches - despite many nations playing the game - it comes as no surprise that the less developed women's side of things is even leaner. However, things are moving in the right direction. So here were the Women's internationals for 2018.

24th February. Toulon, France

France 12-4 Italy

The match was marred by heavy rain and a very muddy pitch. The difficult conditions kept the score low and France led just 4-0 at halftime. They were ahead 12-0 at the end but a try on full time gave the Italian lasses something to cheer.

The two muddied sides after the game

Picture source: www.ffr13.fr

13th October. Auckland, NZ

New Zealand 24-26 Australia

Apparently, Australia has only won once in NZ, in the third test in 1999. However, the visitors took an early 12-0 lead and then the Kiwis were wrongly denied a try when a player was incorrectly judged to have touched the sideline.

The Kiwis came back and led as the clock ran down but a late try to Australia got them home. With five tries apiece, goal kicking and a crucial officiating error gave the match to the visitors.

27th October. Carcassonne, France

France 4-54 England

England hit the ground running and after a quarter of the game, led 22-0 and by the break, the lead had been extended to 26 points. The pressure was maintained by the visiting side and the hosts at least had the consolation of a late try, before England added another at the end. It wasn't a great day for conversions, with England only landing 5 from 11 tries and France missing their one opportunity.

These sides played twice in the middle of 2017, with England winning both in close encounters. This time it was a much more one-sided affair.

10th November. Carcassonne, France

France 60-0 Italy

France had learned a harsh lesson two weeks earlier and seemed the better for that. They took the game to their opponents and raced to a 32-0 halftime score. The second stanza was much the same and in the end, it was a clear victory to the French women.

25th November. Sao Paulo, Brazil

Brazil 48-0 Argentina

The Women's South American Cup was to consist of two matches between these two sides but due to unforseen circumstances only one went ahead. The winner progresses to the qualifiers for the Rugby League World Cup 2021. They will be two places for the Americas and the South American champion (Brazil) will face teams from North America next year.

USA Season : 2017

Along with the demise of the Bucks Couty side, an original USARL team the Washington DC Slayers also left the competition. Due to that the two divisions of the Northern Conference were amalgamated.

Conference: New York won the northern section from Brooklyn, last years grand final winner back at 5th spot. In the south, the other grand finalist came 3rd, with Atlanta and Tampa outperforming the usually consistent Axemen.

Playoffs: The top four from each conference then locked horns, in the south that meant all the sides. The top four conference teams made the semi finals with New York and Atlanta making the grand final. It was NY's first final in its 3rd year while Atlanta was in its second in four seasons. The winner would be a champion for the first time.

They say you have to lose a final before you can will one and in this instance, that was how it panned out. Atlanta prevailed 32-18 over the Knights.

2017
Northern Conference			Southern Conference
1	New York Knights	16	1	Atlanta Rhinos	11
2	Brooklyn Kings	12	2	Tampa Bay Mayhem	7
3	White Plains Wombats	10	3	Jacksonville Axemen	4
4	Northern Virginia Eagles	8	4	Central Florida Warriors	2
5	Philadelphia Fight	6
6	Boston 13s	6
7	Delaware Black Foxes	4
8	Rhode Island Rebelion	0
Playoffs – Northern			Playoffs – Southern
R1	New York Knights	42	R1	Atlanta Rhinos	58
	Northern Virginia Eagles	20		Central Florida Warriors	10
R1	Brooklyn Kings	46	R1	Tampa Bay Mayhem	42
	White Plains Wombats	10		Jacksonville Axemen	24
R2	New York Knights	46	R2	Atlanta Rhinos	32
	Brooklyn Kings	24		Tampa Bay Mayhem	24
			Grand Final
			S	Atlanta Rhinos	32
			N	New York Knights	18

The 2018 season can be seen by clicking here.
The 2016 year can be viewed by clicking here.