U.S. to host men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups for first time

DUBLIN

The United States is now the host of Rugby’s largest tournament.

The hard part now for the sport’s leaders: Generating enough interest to ensure rugby’s position in the crowded U.S. markets.

After being elected as the host for the 2031 men’s and two-year-old women’s events, the Rugby World Cup will take place in the United States for the first time.

It is the first time that rugby has attempted to be part of the American sporting consciousness.

“The golden nugget that everybody wants to get hold of” was how World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont described America.

“What we will leave in the U.S.,” he said, “is an extremely sustainable, vibrant sport that will go from strength to strength.”

USA Rugby’s vision is of countrywide membership more than quadrupling to 450,000 by 2031, of stadiums “from coast to coast” staging matches – there have been around 25 venue bids, including from NFL and Major League Soccer arenas – and of significant investment in the domestic Major League Rugby so the U.S. Eagles are a competitive team in time for 2031.

To cut through the noise of American sports, the Eagles and World Cup would need a competitive, maybe quarterfinal-bidding, team. The Rugby World Cup takes place in September-October when America is already captivated by college football and the NFL pennant races and playoffs and the beginning of the NBA or NHL.

USA Rugby already has some experience. In July 2018, the Rugby World Cup Sevens took place at the San Francisco Giants’ baseball stadium. It attracted more than 100,000 spectators over three days and had decent ratings on NBC.

“(The World Cups are) an invitation to increase our levels of awareness, to increase our sport’s fan base,” saidVictoria Folayan was a sevens rugby player for the U.S., and is USA Rugby’s athlete representative. “The doors are opening. Being able to take that step is just the beginning.”

World Rugby’s successful trip to Asia in 2019 for its men’s showpiece event – where Japan was the hosts – will be key to getting the U.S. ready for its debut. The public as well as the national team will be there.

The women’s team won 1991’s inaugural World Cup and reached the final in two subsequent events. However, the men’s Eagles never made it past the pool stage of a World Cup. They have three wins in 25 matches and have been excluded from competing against the top teams in the world on an annual basis.

World Rugby will offer coaching expertise to the Eagles, just as it did for Japan. It is a constant effort to change the international men’s calendar so emerging nations such as the United States have more chances.

Hosting the World Cups will cost approximately $500 million. Profits and losses will be split between USA Rugby and World Rugby. USA Rugby filed for bankruptcy in 2020.

The bid received support from the White House, with U.S. President Joe Biden sending a letter to World Rugby last month giving governmental guarantees and his backing for the “development of rugby in the United States.”

In some areas of the world, the men’s Rugby World Cup has been ranked third after the soccer World Cup (and the summer Olympics).

The United States will host all three events within five years starting in 2026. This includes the men’s football World Cup in that year, with Mexico and Canada serving as co-hosts. In 2028, the Olympics in Los Angeles will take place.

World Rugby announced the hosts for all World Cups between 2025 and 33, both for men and women, using a simplified bid process.

After Australia won the 2027 men’s World Cup and the 2029 women’s World Cup, Sydney Harbour Bridge was lit with green and gold. Australia is hosting the men’s World Cup for the first time in three years.

The World Cups are being seen as an opportunity to revive rugby in Australia. They will be held after the Australian tour in 2025 of the British and Irish Lions. This will bring much-needed revenue for Rugby Australia, which was severely affected by the pandemic.

Rugby Australia chief executive Andy Marinos called it “the start of a new era for Australian Rugby.”

“Australia will become the center of the rugby world over the next decade,” he said, “and that is incredibly exciting.”

The 2027 tournament marks the 40th anniversary Australia and New Zealand hosting the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987.

England was selected to host the 2025 Women’s World Cup.