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Battlefield USA: Rugby union versus league

kasi apuula new author
Roar Rookie
7th December, 2017
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kasi apuula new author
Roar Rookie
7th December, 2017
53
1688 Reads

With the success of Canada’s first professional rugby league team and talks with more sides to join the English rugby league ranks, rugby union is looking to try and do one better.

The vehicle for this is the formation of Major League Rugby, which is due to kick off in April of next year with seven teams: the Houston SabreCats, Utah Warriors, Seattle Seawolves, San Diego Legion, Glendale Raptors, New Orleans Gold and Austin Elite Rugby.

The 15-man code has already attempted a pro comp in the United States with the failed Pro Rugby in 2015. Many lessons were learnt from the previous attempt, one being not to have an entire competition owned and operated by one man.

This time around, all teams are privately owned and operated. Each team had to pay a $500,000 US bond to secure their spot in the newly-formed competition, and detailed business plans have been created to ensure sustainability for the next three years.

Rugby league has looked to take a more conservative approach by joining the existing and already-successful English leagues. So far this has already yielded success with the Toronto Wolfpack after they gain promotion to the championship and an average home crowd of 7000.

It raises an interesting point of debate: should rugby in America attempt to join an already-established competition? Or is Major League Rugby the way forward?

Either way, it’s an exciting time for both codes as they look to expand into the biggest sporting market in the world. The question is, will both codes be able to co-exist? Or will the continuing code war reach the shores of Uncle Sam?

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