Tigers Tour As US Rugby Plans New League
The United States could have a new 15 a-side rugby union league by as early as 2016 after plans were unveiled for the competition, which will be run by Minnesota-based RugbyLaw LLC.
While details about the format or structure of the proposed league in 2016 have yet to be confirmed, the competition will reportedly feature six teams based in ‘key American cities’.
Titled the National Rugby Football League (NRFL), the launch will follow an exhibition match between an all-star US team, to be known as the NRFL Rough Riders, and Aviva Premiership club Leicester Tigers in August next year.
The Rough Riders will be made up of players recruited from professional and collegiate football, basketball and hockey as well as rugby.
Michael Clements, the founder of RugbyLaw, said of the match with Leicester: ‘This game will truly be the first of firsts in establishing professional rugby in America.’
‘Awareness and opportunity is what we are bringing to the athletes and sports fans as we birth the major league sport of rugby in America.’
Leicester Tigers chief executive Simon Cohen added: ‘The name of Leicester Tigers travels across the world and we’re delighted to have been invited to witness the appetite for the game in the USA first-hand and the fixture against a team from the National Rugby Football League clubs will provide an excellent platform both for the home-based players and also our squad as they prepare for a new season.’
The announcement comes days after a record crowd for a rugby international in the USA watched world champions New Zealand beat USA 74-6, in front of a 61,500 fans at Soldier Field in Chicago last weekend.
