View source for World Rugby Nations Cup

{{Short description|Rugby competition}}{{Infobox sports league
|current_season = 2019 World Rugby Nations Cup
|logo =
|caption =
|sport = Rugby union
|founded = 2006
|teams = 4
|country = '''2018 Teams'''<br>{{RuA|ARG}}<br>{{RuA|ITA|name=Emerging Italy}}<br>{{RuA|FIJ}}<br>{{Ru|URU}}
|champion = {{ru|URU}} (2019)
}}
The '''Nations Cup''' is a [[rugby union]] competition that was first held in 2006 at [[Estádio Universitário de Lisboa|Estádio Universitário]] in [[Lisbon]] with [[Argentina Jaguars national rugby union team|Argentina A]], [[Italy A national rugby union team|Italy A]], [[Portugal national rugby union team|Portugal]] and [[Russia national rugby union team|Russia]] taking part. The tournament is part of the [[International Rugby Board]]'s US $50 million Strategic Investment programme, which also includes the [[Pacific Nations Cup]], the [[Pacific Rugby Cup]], and the [[Americas Rugby Championship]] (as well as the ARC's predecessor, the [[North America 4]]).

==History==
The Nations Cup is aimed at providing more competition for tier one A sides, as well as offering opportunities for second and third-tier nations such as [[Portugal national rugby union team|Portugal]], [[Russia national rugby union team|Russia]], [[Namibia national rugby union team|Namibia]], [[Uruguay national rugby union team|Uruguay]], [[Georgia national rugby union team|Georgia]] and [[Romania national rugby union team|Romania]].<ref>See [[List of international rugby union teams#National teams - tier classification]] for more information on the Tiers.</ref>  The Nations Cup is an important tournament for both Italy and Argentina; at the time of the inaugural competition in [[2006 IRB Nations Cup|2006]], the two sides combined had only nine players who did not play in their respective domestic competitions. The inaugural tournament was won by [[Argentina Jaguars national rugby union team|Argentina A]].

The Nations Cup was expanded in [[2007 IRB Nations Cup|2007]], with six teams instead of four. Argentina A and [[Italy A national rugby union team|Italy A]] returned, along with [[Namibia national rugby union team|Namibia]], [[Georgia national rugby union team|Georgia]], [[Romania national rugby union team|Romania]] and the [[Emerging Springboks]]. This partly allowed Namibia, Georgia, and Romania to warm up for the [[2007 Rugby World Cup]].  Originally scheduled to take place in the Tineretului Stadium, [[Bucharest]], [[Romania]],<ref>[http://www.irb.com/nationscup/news/newsid=278745.html#nations+cup+kick+times+confirmed IRB: original schedule] Accessed: 15 June 2012</ref> in the event the matches took place at the city's [[Stadionul Arcul de Triumf]].<ref>IRB Match Reports on games played at Arcul de Triumf on [http://www.irb.com/nationscup/news/newsid=278748.html#argentina+georgia+emerging+springboks+nations+cup first], [http://www.irb.com/nationscup/news/newsid=278753.html#title+contenders+remain+unbeaten+nations+cup second] and [http://www.irb.com/nationscup/news/newsid=278763.html#emerging+springboks+crowned+nations+cup+champions third] days. Accessed: 15 June 2012</ref>  The [[Emerging Springboks]] were crowned champions, and the Tournament has remained at Arcul de Triumf since then.

In [[2008 IRB Nations Cup|2008]], Argentina A, soon to be rechristened as [[Argentina Jaguars national rugby union team|Argentina Jaguars]], left the tournament to play in the [[Churchill Cup]], [[Namibia national rugby union team|Namibia]] also withdrew. [[Uruguay national rugby union team|Uruguay]] and [[Russia national rugby union team|Russia]] took their places. The [[Emerging Springboks]] were crowned champions with a 100% record for the second time.

[[2009 IRB Nations Cup|2009]] saw the addition of [[Scotland A national rugby union team|Scotland A]] and [[France A national rugby union team|France A]] to the tournament at the expense of the Emerging Springboks and Georgia, which both had other commitments that year. The Emerging Springboks played the [[British & Irish Lions]] during the Lions' [[2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa|tour of South Africa]], while Georgia accepted an invitation to the Churchill Cup. Scotland A won that year's edition.

For the [[2010 IRB Nations Cup|2010]] edition, Romania and defending champions Scotland A returned from 2009, as did Italy A. France A, Russia, and Uruguay instead played in the [[2010 Churchill Cup]]. Georgia, returning after a one-year absence, and Namibia and Argentina Jaguars, returning for the first time since 2007, took their places. Namibia emerged as the winner.

The [[2011 IRB Nations Cup|2011]] edition effectively served as a [[2011 Rugby World Cup]] warm-up for host Romania, defending Nations Cup champion Namibia, and Georgia. The Argentina Jaguars also returned from the 2010 edition. Portugal returned for the first time since the inaugural edition in 2006. South Africa made their first appearance since 2008 a successful one, with a team billed as the "South African Kings" — in reality, the [[Southern Kings]], the country's planned future [[Super Rugby]] franchise — winning the event.

[[Southern Kings]] did not return to defend their title in [[2012 IRB Nations Cup|2012]], nor did Namibia or Georgia return to take part.  Instead, Italy A (missing for a year) and Russia and Uruguay (missing for two years) reappeared.  Host nation Romania won for the first time in the competition's history.  They retained the title in [[2013 IRB Nations Cup|2013]], this time in a four-team round-robin.

[[Emerging Ireland]] made their first appearance in the competition in [[2014 IRB Nations Cup|2014]], along with Uruguay, Russia, and host Romania.  This edition is important preparation for the [[2015 Rugby World Cup]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Nations Cup central to RWC 2015 preparations | url=http://www.irb.com/nationscup/news/newsid=2070900.html#nations+cup+central+rwc+2015+preparations | date = 1 April 2014 | access-date = 1 April 2014}}</ref>

Namibia made its first appearance since 2011 in 2015 as it began preparing for the [[2015 Rugby World Cup]]. They were joined by Spain, who debuted in the tournament, and the Argentina Jaguars, coached by Argentina's most capped and top point scorer [[Felipe Contepomi]].

===Teams===
The teams that participated in the IRB Nations Cup and their finishing positions are as follows:
{| class="wikitable" 
|-
! bgcolor="#efefef" width="250" | Team
! bgcolor="#efefef" width="40"  | [[2006 IRB Nations Cup|2006]]
! bgcolor="#efefef" width="40"  | [[2007 IRB Nations Cup|2007]]
! bgcolor="#efefef" width="40"  | [[2008 IRB Nations Cup|2008]]
! bgcolor="#efefef" width="40"  | [[2009 IRB Nations Cup|2009]]
! bgcolor="#efefef" width="40"  | [[2010 IRB Nations Cup|2010]]
! bgcolor="#efefef" width="40"  | [[2011 IRB Nations Cup|2011]]
! bgcolor="#efefef" width="40"  | [[2012 IRB Nations Cup|2012]]
! bgcolor="#efefef" width="40"  | [[2013 IRB Nations Cup|2013]]
! bgcolor="#efefef" width="40"  | [[2014 IRB Nations Cup|2014]]
! bgcolor="#efefef" width="40"  | [[2015 World Rugby Nations Cup|2015]]
! bgcolor="#efefef" width="40"  | [[2016 World Rugby Nations Cup|2016]]
! bgcolor="#efefef" width="40"  | [[2017 World Rugby Nations Cup|2017]]
! bgcolor="#efefef" width="40"  | [[2018 World Rugby Nations Cup|2018]]
! bgcolor="#efefef" width="40"  | [[2019 World Rugby Nations Cup|2019]]
|- align=center
| align=left |{{ru|GEO}}|| - ||3rd||2nd|| - ||5th||2nd|| - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - 
|- align=center
| align=left |{{ru|NAM}}|| - ||6th|| - || - ||bgcolor=#FFD700|1st||4th|| - || - || - ||4th||3rd||4th|| - ||4th
|- align=center
| align=left |{{ru|PRT}}||4th|| - || - || - || - ||6th||6th|| - || - || - || - || - || - || - 
|- align=center
| align=left |{{ru|ROU}}|| - ||4th||3rd||4th||2nd||5th||bgcolor=#FFD700|1st||bgcolor=#FFD700|1st||2nd||bgcolor=#FFD700|1st||bgcolor=#FFD700|1st|| - || - || - 
|- align=center
| align=left |{{ru|RUS}}||3rd|| - ||6th||5th|| - || - ||5th||4th||4th|| - || - ||2nd|| - ||2nd
|- align=center
| align=left |{{ru|ESP}}|| - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - ||3rd||6th||5th|| - || - 
|- align=center
| align=left |{{ru|URY}}|| - || - ||5th||6th|| - || - ||4th|| - ||3rd|| - ||5th||bgcolor=#FFD700|1st||bgcolor=#FFD700|1st||bgcolor=#FFD700|1st
|- align=center
| align=left |{{ruA|ARG|name=Argentina Jaguars / XV}}||bgcolor=#FFD700|1st||2nd|| - || - ||4th||3rd||2nd||3rd|| - ||2nd||2nd||3rd||2nd||3rd
|- align=center
| align=left |{{ruA|FJI|name=Fiji Warriors}}|| - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - ||4th|| - 
|- align=center
| align=left |{{ruA|FRA}}|| - || - || - ||3rd|| - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - 
|- align=center
| align=left |{{flagicon|IRE|rugby union}} [[Emerging Ireland]]|| - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - ||bgcolor=#FFD700|1st|| - || - || - || - || - 
|- align=center
| align=left |{{ruA|ITA|name=Italy A / Emerging Italy}}||2nd||5th||4th||2nd||3rd|| - ||3rd||2nd|| - || - ||4th||6th||3rd|| - 
|- align=center
| align=left |{{ruA|SCO}}|| - || - || - ||bgcolor=#FFD700|1st||6th|| - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - 
|- align=center
| align=left |{{ruA|ZAF}}|| - ||bgcolor=#FFD700|1st||bgcolor=#FFD700|1st|| - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - 
|- align=center
| align=left |{{flagicon|ZAF}} [[Southern Kings|South African Kings]]|| - || - || - || - || - ||bgcolor=#FFD700|1st|| - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - 
|}

==Statistics==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Point scorers===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Rank
!Player
!Team
!Points
|-style="background:#d0ffd0;"
|align=center| 1 || [[Florin Vlaicu]] || {{ru|ROU}} ||align=center| 174
|-
|align=center| 2 || [[Luciano Orquera]] || {{ruA|ITA}} ||align=center| 119
|-
|align=center| 3 || [[Santiago González Iglesias]] || {{ruA|ARG}} ||align=center| 71
|-
|rowspan=2 align=center| 4 || [[Dănuț Dumbravă]] || {{ru|ROU}} ||rowspan=2 align=center| 64
|-
|[[Yuri Kushnarev]] || {{ru|RUS}}
|-
|align=center| 6 || [[Valentin Calafeteanu]] || {{ru|ROU}} ||align=center| 54
|-
|rowspan=2 align=center| 7 || [[Louis Strydom]] || {{flagicon|RSA}} [[Southern Kings|South African Kings]] ||rowspan=2 align=center| 45
|-
| [[Alexander Yanyushkin]] || {{ru|RUS}}
|-
|align=center| 9 || [[Cătălin Fercu]] || {{ru|ROM}} ||align=center| 43
|-
|rowspan=2 align=center| 10 || [[Peter Grant (rugby union)|Peter Grant]] || {{ruA|RSA}} ||rowspan=2 align=center| 44
|-
| [[Hernán Senillosa]] || {{ruA|ARG}}
|}
<small>'''Last updated:''' 21 June 2015</small>
{{col-2}}

===Try scorers===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Rank
!Player
!Team
!Tries
|-style="background:#d0ffd0;"
|align=center| 1 || [[Cătălin Fercu]] || {{ru|ROU}} ||align=center| 8
|-
|rowspan=2 align=center| 2 || [[Siyanda Grey]] || {{flagicon|RSA}} [[Southern Kings|South African Kings]] ||rowspan=2 align=center|6
|-
| [[Joaquín Tuculet]] || {{ruA|ARG}}  
|-
|align=center| 4 || [[Mihai Macovei]] || {{ru|ROU}} ||align=center| 5
|-
|rowspan=3 align=center| 5 || [[Tomás de Vedia]] || {{ruA|ARG}} ||rowspan=3 align=center| 4
|-
| [[Craig Gilroy]] || {{flagicon|IRE|rugby union}} [[Emerging Ireland]]
|-
| [[Michele Sepe]] || {{ruA|ITA}}
|-
|rowspan=8 align=center| 8 || [[Andrea Bacchetti (rugby union)|Andrea Bacchetti]] || {{ruA|ITA}} ||rowspan=8 align=center| 3
|-
| [[Tonderai Chavhanga]] || {{ruA|RSA}}
|-
| [[Alberto Chiesa]] || {{ruA|ITA}}
|-
| [[Andrew Conway]] || {{flagicon|IRE|rugby union}} [[Emerging Ireland]]
|-
| [[Marius Delport (rugby union)|Marius Delport]] || {{ruA|RSA}}
|-
| [[Juan Ignacio Gauthier]] || {{ruA|ARG}}
|-
| [[Hernán Senillosa]] || {{ruA|ARG}}
|-
| [[Florin Vlaicu]] || {{ru|ROU}}
|}
<small>'''Last updated:''' 21 June 2015</small>
{{Col-end}}

==Results==
:{| class="wikitable"
|-border=1 cellpadding=5 cellspacing=0
! bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Year
! bgcolor="#efefef" width="200"|Winner
! bgcolor="#efefef" width="90"|Host
|- 
| [[2006 IRB Nations Cup|2006]] || {{ruA|ARG|name=Argentina A}} || {{PRT}}
|-  
| [[2007 IRB Nations Cup|2007]] || {{ruA|ZAF}} ||rowspan="10"|{{ROU}}
|-  
| [[2008 IRB Nations Cup|2008]] || {{ruA|ZAF}}
|-  
| [[2009 IRB Nations Cup|2009]] || {{ruA|SCO}}
|-
| [[2010 IRB Nations Cup|2010]] || {{ru|NAM}}
|-
| [[2011 IRB Nations Cup|2011]] || {{flagicon|ZAF}} [[Southern Kings|South African Kings]]
|-
| [[2012 IRB Nations Cup|2012]] || {{ru|ROU}}
|-
| [[2013 IRB Nations Cup|2013]] || {{ru|ROU}}
|-
| [[2014 IRB Nations Cup|2014]] || {{flagicon|IRE|rugby union}} [[Emerging Ireland]]
|-
| [[2015 World Rugby Nations Cup|2015]] || {{ru|ROU}}
|-
| [[2016 World Rugby Nations Cup|2016]] || {{ru|ROU}}
|- 
| [[2017 World Rugby Nations Cup|2017]] || {{ru|URU}} ||rowspan="3"|{{URU}}
|- 
| [[2018 World Rugby Nations Cup|2018]] || {{ru|URU}}
|- 
| [[2019 World Rugby Nations Cup|2019]] || {{ru|URU}}<ref>[https://www.world.rugby/news/430983 Uruguay win World Rugby Nations Cup]</ref>
|}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Sports}}
* [[IRB Pacific Nations Cup]]
* [[IRB Tbilisi Cup]]
* [[Americas Rugby Championship]]
* [[Women's Nations Cup (rugby union)|Women's Nations Cup]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.irb.com/nationscup/index.html IRB Nations Cup Official site]

{{Nations Cup}}
{{International rugby union}}

[[Category:World Rugby Nations Cup| ]]
[[Category:World Rugby competitions|Nations Cup]]