The Colombia national rugby union team is classified as a tier three nation by the International Rugby Board. They have thus far not qualified for a Rugby World Cup, but have participated in qualifying tournaments. Colombia made their debut against Mexico in 1996. In 2018, the Colombians won their first significant international honour, winning the inaugural Americas Rugby Challenge, the 'B' championship to the Americas Rugby Championship. The national side is ranked 33rd in the world.
History
Colombia attempted to qualify for the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia, participating in the Americas qualifying tournaments during November 2001. They contested matches in the Round 1 group, against nations including Brazil, Venezuela and Peru in Round 1. Colombia was involved in qualifying for the World Cup in 2004 when they contested Round 1b. They finished fourth in the final standings which knocked them out of contention, though their fixtures against Peru and Venezuela were close, losing 15-10 and 27-31 respectively. Rugby has little support by the government or media, as football has a stronger tradition in the country. The Colombian rugby team is called Los Tucanes. The team has competed in the B Division of the South American Rugby Championship since its second edition in 2001. It won the competition in 2009, and again, three times in a row in 2014, 2015 and 2016. However, there is no direct promotion to the A Division; to win promotion it must beat the lowest-place team in the A Division in a playoff. In an attempt to qualify for the 2019 edition of the Rugby World Cup, Colombia showed some progress. Colombia easily beat Ecuador 75-5 then went on to defeat Peru 41-14 and Venezuela 35-10 progressing the team to the next round. This involved Colombia playing Mexico in a Pan-American qualifier, which Colombia won 29-11. Colombia's final qualifying match was played against Paraguay who had come in last place in 2015 South American championship Division A. This was the end of the road for Colombia as they gallantly lost this match 39-27. After winning Sudamericano B three times in a row, Sudamérica Rugby promoted Colombia to the top tier of South America, alongside Uruguay, Chile, Brazil and Paraguay, to start in 2018. The competition changed its format, and a South American Six Nations was played in May 2018. This tournament included the Top 5 teams of South America and Argentina XV. Colombia will have another important competition each year, and it will be Americas Rugby Championship B. This new competition will be structured as the second tier competition of the Americas, after Americas Rugby Championship. Paraguay, Colombia, Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago will play it on a yearly basis. The possibility of promotion and relegation between tiers is under study.
