Rugby article in the Economist

[Linus]

Again, I was lucky enough to be invovled in some small capacity in Rugby in the States. And no matter what growth there is it will naturally not compete with the Big 4 for corporate dollars and coverage and hence will continue to lose the best athletes to college programs. But the hope there is, that like Australia it can compete with the bigger football codes to provide a real alternative to having a coronary in your 40's like most professional footballers. Well the lineman anyway. There is alot of room for Rugby and the brotherhood of rugby has a huge appeal to most of them, along with the idea of being able to hit people without any padding.

I think the fears of the US overwhelming thing is overstating the potential. As is the number of transfers from the positions in American football. Linebackers, running backs and receivers are natural fits. Most of the lineman are really too tall for props and to wide for locks, so that rules out half the players to realistically play as the body type is wrong.

What I love is their passion for the comraderie/culture of rugby. You can expect a player pool the size of Aust/NZ quite easily just need the infrastructure to coach these guys. Todd Clever who played with the Lions the last couple of seasons is a product of the program that I was coaching with, and their is currently lilttle opportunity who these guys to be professional and they have to travel the world just for the opportunity, but if they can reac critical mass and create a fully professional league like an NPC or Currie Cup would mean that you could expect them to reach above the 2nd tier and compete with the Wales and Pacific Island nations. Think then the positive is for Rugby to grow, you then get Canada up a level as well. The strength of more nations playing can only be good for the game.

 

[en_force_er]

I suggest you look up the Utah Warriors(Rugby Super League) and the Glendale Raptors(Division One) as examples of teams that are looking to do just that.

Thanks for the names, I did hear there were sides in the US trying to do this.

The only issue is the push needs to come from the top not the bottom.

 

[wamberal]

There is a groundswell in the States of concern about the huge injury toll in American Football. Without wishing any harm to that code, this might turn out to be an advantage for rugby - which is not without its risks, but is far safer than the American code.