Sport Rugby union Instituted 1944 | Number of teams 20 (Zona Campeonato) | |
Most titles Universitario (Tucumán) (22 titles) | ||
Torneo del noroeste
The Campeonato Anual Regional del Noroeste, Torneo del Noroeste, Torneo del Norte or simply Torneo del NOA (Noroeste Argentino – Argentine North-West), is a regional rugby union competition in Argentina.
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Originally, only clubs from the Unión de Rugby de Tucumán took part. Today however, the competition also involves clubs from the unions of Salta, Jujuy and Santiago del Estero.
This yearly tournament has traditionally been dominated by Tucumán clubs. Clubs from the other 3 provinces have yet to win a title.
The most successful teams are Universitario (Tucumán) and Tucumán RC with 22 and 20 titles respectively.
History
Rugby was first played in Tucumán in 1915 but the first official rugby team in the province – Club Natación y Gimnasia – would only be formed in 1936. Six years later Tucumán Rugby Club was founded, followed by Universitario Rugby Club in 1943 and Cardenales Rugby Club in 1944.
Those four clubs would go on to found the "Unión de Rugby del Norte" on 29 February 1944.
Although the URN was based in Tucumán Province it also dealt with fledgling clubs from the neighbouring provinces of Salta, Jujuy and Santiago del Estero. Later these provinces would go on to form their own unions: Unión de Rugby de Salta in 1951, Unión Jujeña de Rugby in 1966 and Unión Santiagueña de Rugby in 1968.
Although all four provinces take part in the regional Torneo del Noroeste, they still organise their own local competitions.
Formula
19 clubs from all 4 provinces take part in the tournament. The competition is divided into two divisions. 12 clubs take part in the Zona Campaonato, the other 7 in the Zona Ascenso. The tournament uses a promotion/relegation system, with the lowest team in the Campeonato division being replaced by the highest ranked team from the Ascenso division at the end of each season.
Every year, the best 5 teams from the Noroeste tournament qualify for the Torneo del Interior, where they meet clubs from the country's other regional tournaments: Litoral, Centro, Noreste, Pampeana, Oeste and Patagónico.
The two finalists of the Interior tournament then go on to play the finalists of the Buenos Aires League for the national title in the Nacional de Clubes.