It provides a way to prepare players for participation with their senior national men's teams during international tests [2] and in the Rugby World Cup qualification cycle.

[4] This was reversed in 2016 with two Pacific Island teams joining the inaugural APC [5] which effectively replaced the previous format of the Americas Rugby Championship.

[6] The APC was first contested in October 2016 by the national 'A' teams of Argentina, Canada, Fiji, Samoa, Uruguay and United States.

[9] The competition had a two-year hiatus which encompassed the 2019 Rugby World Cup and a 2020 season disrupted by impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Teams from Brazil, Chile and Paraguay took part for the first time in the 2021 Challenge, but the Pacific Islands did not participate due to difficulties with COVID-19 travel logistics.