Rugby in the USA
The Rugby World Cup just concluded and New Zealand beat Australia in the Final in England. There is a wide gap between the tier 1 teams and the rest. USA is definitely in the Tier 2.
Well starting from the top have
the Rugby World Cup. There have been 8 World Cups and New Zealand (all Blacks) have won 3, Australia and South African each have
won it twice. Merry old England has won it once in 2003. There are 10 Tier
1 nations presently. The Six Nations from Europe France, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy. The Tri Nations (New Zealand,
Australia and S Africa) and Argentina. Then there is Tier 2 where the USA
resides. The USA is competitive but have
a very long way to go.
New Zealand, Australia and South Africa
New Zealand, Australia and South Africa also
play in the Rugby Championship every
year. This is a home and away and best record claims the championship. This is a very competative competition in the World and it happens every year. Link below
England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales.
The next biggest Rugby Competition
is the Six Nations
Championship. This is also an annual championship involving 6 European
nations of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. They are all
Tier 1 nations. France has the Top 14 club league, England had the Aviva Rugby
Premiership, and then there is the growing Guinness Pro 12 with 12 teams from
Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Italy. The 6 nations Championship is played iin a home and away format. Some nations get 3 home games and 2 away.
Argentina, USA, Canada, Uruguay, Chile and Brazil
The USA national Rugby team is like
their international soccer team. They have been growing but are second tier
compared to the elite teams. They get
slapped around at the Rugby World Cups. They compete in the regional Pacific Nations
Cup in 2013, 2014 and 2015. They placed 5th of 5 in 2013, 3rd
of 6 in 2014 and 5th of 6 in the 2015 Pacific
Nations Cup. These nations included Fiji,
Somoa, Tonga, Japan, Canada and USA. Starting in 2016 the USA will now play in
the Americas Six Nations.
This will be a yearly competition between Argentina, USA, Canada, Uruguay,
Chile and Brazil. These nations are not as good as the Pacific Nations teams
however this tournament will elevate the image of Rugby in USA. This tournament
will be played at the same time as the European Six Nations Championship. It will be home/away against one other nation like the 6 nations cup. This tournament will be good to raise the interest and
visibility of the sport in the states.
USA semi-pro domestic league
The USA also has Rugby domestic Leagues in its infancy. The top league presently is the USA Rugby League and it is a semi-professional league. The USA Rugby League only has 14 clubs.
Regional leagues
These leagues are presently broken into geographical areas. The green is called the New England, Blue is called the Empire, Light blue is Eastern Penn, and brown (Virginia and Maryland is called Capitol and Florida is at the bottom right. In order for the USA national team to get better the players have to get groomed in these leagues. These leagues are always changing and growing which is a good thing.
The Rugby Sevens is the other half of Rugby that the USA is much better at.
Regional leagues
These leagues are presently broken into geographical areas. The green is called the New England, Blue is called the Empire, Light blue is Eastern Penn, and brown (Virginia and Maryland is called Capitol and Florida is at the bottom right. In order for the USA national team to get better the players have to get groomed in these leagues. These leagues are always changing and growing which is a good thing.
The Rugby Sevens is the other half of Rugby that the USA is much better at.
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