Which brings me neatly to the development of the game. The high school and women's games are booming, as is Sevens, and with both the men's and women's sides reaching the Olympics next year, the usual national pride will ramp up excitement. A lot of parents I spoke to found rugby a safer alternative to American football, despite the reduced amount of safety gear. Surprisingly, the Catholic schools have a huge following, with one having over 200 pupils in their rugby program. The best thing for the sport in the States is the development of the professional game. USA Rugby started things off with the match against the All Blacks last year in Chicago, and they continue the build up to the World Cup with a match against Australia and Harlequins in Chicago and Philadelphia respectively. They won the bid for the Sevens World Cup in 2018, and are currently in the run to host the 2023 World Cup.
But now we have something of a complication. The National Rugby Football League (NRFL) appeared, backed by a company called RugbyLaw. With the sole task of creating a professional league, the NRFL arranged two fixtures, one between Saracens and the Crusaders in the Hemisphere cup, and one between Leicester and the Rough Riders, one of the new professional teams. There was some real excitement about both these fixtures but this past week both fixtures have been cancelled. A real shame for the supporters of all three clubs who have already bought tickets.
"Three clubs?" I hear you ask. Yes, three. As far as USA Rugby are concerned, the Rough Riders don't exist. They would've been a scratch side who were uninsured by their respective unions. I had to fill a form to referee over the pond, which covered me if I'd been injured. And that's to referee! In the litigious nature of America, USA Rugby couldn't risk it. They stated publicly that they couldn't sanction the game due to the Rough Riders non-standing with USA Rugby, which isn't helped by the NRFL repeatedly stating they're outside of USA and World Rugby.
Here's a compromise though. Since it would have been a scratch side anyway, why not host the traditional Leicester/Barbarians match in Philadelphia? That way the Leicester fans would still be able to see the city and enjoy a holiday, plus some legends of the game could tag along for good measure.
As for the Hemisphere Cup, I don't know why the match was canceled. For the moment, I can only speculate that it was due to the pitch not passing the World Rugby inspection. This was given the all clear from USA Rugby, but if the pitch was deemed unsafe, then there's nothing anyone can do. Ticket sales were not particularly high, according to some reports, which may have led to the game being called off but I don't know at this point. For USA Rugby and the NRFL, though, it's not good. The best thing for both of these entities would be to come together as one, as the RFU and the PRU have done in England. Let the clubs and the national side work together to create a league. Professional rugby needs to be a reality for the States before they can host a full XV's World Cup. Japan have their league and now a Super XV side (or Super XVIII, as it'll now be known.) America needs to utilise the college and high school players. Develop them and create something tangible. I find it hard to believe that there isn't the money for rugby in the USA. But we shall have to see. For now, we have the Eagles against the Wallabies and Harlequins to look forward to. Let's hope this gives everyone a kick in the backside.
