More clubs and more dates mean a longer calendar. Not as competitive. Looking for extend the season And reduce demand for amateur rugbyThe Buenos Aires Rugby Union announced his calendar for next year, with the new format of the Top 14its flagship tournament, which will begin in mid-March.
After eight seasons with 12 clubs in the elite (except 2022, when due to quarantine the relegated ones were eliminated and 13 remained), URBA decided to add two more in 2026. Although the majority agreed in the end, there were two marked positions: the clubs that usually fight at the top they disagree And They wanted to reduce the competition to 10 teamsand the rest supported the top 14.
The main reason for the union is Expand club life into the calendar. Aside from that, Equate the number of days to those of the first A, B and C. Four more dates mean a month that the clubs earn from the income from tickets, parking spaces, sponsors and buffets. Instead of mid-April, the tournament begins on March 14th and the regular phase ends on October 17th. The premise is this Add games to replace the long pre-seasons and post-seasons.
There is a side that argues that so many dates would tire the players even more, saturated by the physical and mental strain that a tournament with amateurs entails a practically professional requirement and preparation. They all have video analysts, some hired staff, three training sessions per week and incentives. Nobody wants to give in and everyone is pushing the limit upwards. Leading the table is urgent.
The URBA board decided that there two promotions and two descents per category. The relegations are direct, each champion is automatically promoted and the second promoted team is determined in the playoffs: 2nd against 5th, 3rd against 4th. The aim is to promote competition and that the clubs have an incentive until the end.
However, the determination not to add another instance to the Top 14 playoffs could result in the gap between the fittest and the rest widening: In recent years the rating has been divided into three groups and in the last few games those in the middle zone remained without goals. If you don’t have a long and high-quality squad, you can hardly get close to the usual main players with 26 days. This is not a problem for URBA, which is trying to de-dramatize the table.
Between 2010 and 2016, the top two qualified directly for the semi-finals, and from third to sixth place they faced two quarter-finals. Taking into account the current context, it may be appropriate to promote clubs with fewer resources.
2026 will be the return to the top category The MatrerosChampion of the first A, against whom he will debut Bella Vista Regattas. Atlético del Rosarioanother new carrier will be visiting The silverAnd Champagnatafter their triumph in extremis in the playoff over San Luis ALMOST.
Newman will premiere the title Buenos Aires CRCon a first date that will have SIC vs. Belgrano And Alumni vs. CUBA as outstanding encounters. The San Isidro Classic takes place on the 11th and 24th. It will be one free appointment per month and only those in March and April fall on long weekends. On August 4th, 11th, 18th and 29th, the time of the first will be brought forward to 2 p.m. so that the date does not overlap with the Pumas’ home friendlies. The Union publishes its game plan in advance so that the protagonists can organize their free weeks in advance.
In one Interviewing the protagonists to analyze the format of the competition, URBA suggested two options which he had considered in recent years: the possibility of bringing forward one game per date to Friday evening (at the request of television), which the majority rejected, and the chance to do so move crucial instances to a football stadiumafter overflowing audiences at CASI in recent years. The Acassuso Stadium is one of them being planned, but the decision will be reviewed over time. There’s still a long way to go before the season and an even longer way to complete an expanded schedule.
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