The Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper proclaims “There’s a new game in town” in a large article on the birth of the Brooklyn Kings rugby league club.
This sets the tone for the kick-off of the 2014 USARL season. Remembering the USARL is a breakaway comp for rugby league in the USA, this season could catapult the organisation into the forefront of leading rugby league in America.
This will be more evident if rumours are true that the governing body AMNRL will not even get its season off the ground this year.
With the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) announcing stringent rules for participation in the next rugby league World Cup, the USARL looks to be in the box seat for recognition as official governing body of the sport.
On paper it will also more likely pass the RLIF’s full-membership criteria, hence allowing and leading participation in the 2017 World Cup for the national side and finally having a proper shot of capitalising on the world stage for the sport.
For novices of US rugby league, the 2014 USARL season IV kicked off last week, with the competition comprising 11 clubs in two conferences. It signifies one of the most ambitious stages of rugby league development in North America.
The competition spans throughout the east-coast from Boston to Tampa, Florida.
The North Conference will see seven clubs in two Regions (North-East and Mid-Atlantic). The conference includes last year’s National Champions, Philadelphia Fight, competing against familiar foes Boston 13s, Baltimore Blues Rhode Island Rebellion, and DC Slayers.
Other teams battling it out include the newly formed Brooklyn Kings and former AMNRL club, Northern Virginia Eagles. Other AMNRL clubs wanted to come over en masse but given the season was only two weeks away from kick off, their request was rejected.
The Southern Conference includes probably the biggest and most successful US club to date, former champions, Jacksonville Axemen, who will also host the USARL National Championship Final on Saturday, August 23 at the University of North Florida (UNF).
Other clubs include Central Florida Warriors, Tampa Mayhem, and Atlanta Rhinos who have partnered with English Super League giants Leeds.
The exciting features of the USARL season see all clubs playing in respectable facilities, many with capacities of 5-10,000 and garnering respectable to great coverage in local media.
The Jax Axe, as they are affectionately known, bring in crowds of 2-3,000 at times, appear on local radio and TV and have official recognition by the region’s business council and tourism boards.
All clubs have also been successful in harvesting sponsorship from their local communities. Playing rosters are mostly home grown with a few expats from Australia, NZ, Papua New Guinea, the Pacific Islands, Europe and even Latin America, in the mix.
Off-field, the Jacksonville branch of Republic Services, a Fortune 500 organisation publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange, is the new sponsor of USARL referees and officials.
Further, clubs like the Rhode Island Rebellion lead the way in junior development for the USARL. They have the American Youth Rugby League Association’s Providence High School Rugby League Competition under their wing.
Along with Boston 13s, they have also launched a four team U23 competition in the Massachusetts and Rhode Island region. Other clubs are now moving quickly into the junior development field, an important cog in furthering the sport in such a competitive market.
2014 marks a great year for rugby league with additional clubs, many already with decade old histories, certain to join the USARL next year.
The conference system will allow them to lessen their financial burden because of extensive travel, and widen the footprint of rugby league in the United States. A niche presence in the US would be an important piece in the growing international rugby league puzzle.
Cathar Treize
Roar Guru
great to see the Philadelphia Fight get excellent TV & newspaper coverage and have just got a huge boost in their local sporting market. http://www.timesherald.com/sports/20130927/rugby-a-winning-philly-team-and-a-different-sport http://www.fightrugby.com/phila-fight-appear-on-good-day-philadelphia-fox-29-with-jenn-frederick/
Cathar Treize
Roar Guru
Well Brooklyn are now 2 out of 2 with their first home game ending in a 26-24 victory over Boston.
Cathar Treize
Roar Guru
Yes, and they even had to change venue to a USARL host at last minute, hence the poor crowd coupled with AMNRL's haphazard organisation. I think the AMNRL's participation & selection of the RLWC2013 squad was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Matt
Guest
Great to see Rugby League starting to take off in the USA,I think the USARL is the future of the game in the states.Canada do seem to be leaving the states behind the had a 7,200 attendance last year and the return game in USA only attracted 175 people.Time for the USARL to take control and move forward.
Cathar Treize
Roar Guru
Thanx for the great input. Sure shows there are lots of possibilities for the future of RL in the USA.I certainly hope cities like Pittsburgh, Chicago, and the North Carolina region join the fold. From the work being done in those areas, it's a distinct possibility in the near future.
Remmy
Guest
There was nearly a deal reached between the AMNRL and USARL but the USARL pulled out in the last minute.. and I do not blame them tbh.. The USARL has done a lot more work from the game in the USA than the AMNRL.. They deserve to be recognised as the only governing body soon. The USARL invited the AMNRL clubs to join there comp, of which NOVA Eagles accepted but the rest rejected.. Until the last minute when all the AMNRL clubs changed their mind.. It just shows that the writing is on the wall for the AMNRL and they will soon be defunct. I disagree with your proposition of the AMNRL clubs that, that many AMNRL clubs could be absorbed by the USARL, which I strongly suggest that it cannot. How can the State of New York have three Rugby League teams... It is way too many. The only way that it would work is if Brooklyn and the NY Knights were the only two teams in NY city. The only way I think the raiders could survive is if they were to relocated to Buffalo in the west of NY State, but I'll come back to that. Secondly, Philadelphia Fight is already a Pennsylvanian team. So there is no logical way you can have both a Philadelphian team and a team labelled as Pennsylvania State. So that is illogical. I see once again, relocation as the saviour of the Bulls, being in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is just over an hour flight from Philadelphia. Thirdly, Bucks County is north of Philadelphia and quite close.. Despite the county have a population over 600,000, I do not think this is a viable area for a USARL first grade team. I think perhaps the Sharks could be in a lower grade comp in the future, similar to the feeder teams the Jacksonville Axemen have developed, in which they could be affiliated with Philadelphia. I think the Connecticut Wildcats would fit perfectly in a conference with Brooklyn, Knights, Rhode Island and Boston and Philadelphia. Baltimore, DC and North Virginia are geographically close and with the formation of a fourth team (on indulgence, say Charlotte or even a southern Virginian team), this can be a formidable mid-Atlantic conference. Now the juicy bit of my proposal is that a team in Buffalo (Raiders) is only an hour and a half drive away from the four teams in the Ontario competition in Canada (Toronto Centurions, Toronto City Saints, Brantford Broncos and Oakville Crusaders). So you could well have the USARL (like MLS, MLB, NBA) be a North American competition rather than just American. I find this pretty fascinating in how this can actually be manifested. Oakville and Brantford are the weaker teams in the Ontario comp and I think they could well be feeder teams for the two Toronto teams in the future if they decided to join a USARL conference. This opens up possibilities to further development projects in Ottawa and Montreal which are 55 minute and 1 hour and 5 minute flights respectively. Or are 4.5/5 hour drives. Now this last visionary proposal is a little far-fetched, but in the future I do not see why this cannot happen. But if the Bulls do move to Pittsburgh, it opens up the doorway to the big cities west of it. Immediately to the west of Pittsburgh is Columbus and north-west is Cleveland and Detroit. The AMNRL has had developmental roots in Chicago with Rugby League being played there by some Uni's and the Chicago Stockyarders. When you add Chicago and Indianapolis into the mix, there is a perfect ring made between Pittsburgh, Columbus, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago and Indianapolis. Sure, it is far-fetched atm.. But to see how far the USARL has come in just four years, shows that this can be a very real strategic objective in the future.
Cathar Treize
Roar Guru
I think the only thing that stopped the USARL from adding more clubs was the short timeline to the start of the season. It has already been reported many AMNRL players have switched to USARL clubs, and I'm sure if they meet criteria they will be back at their old clubs once they join with the USARL in 2015. AMNRL clubs most likely to join in 2015 would be the New York Knights (est 2002), New York Raiders (est 2002), Bucks County Sharks (est 1998), Connecticut Wildcats (est 2003), & Pennsylvania Bulls (est 1998), if they can keep things together while not playing in 2014. This would however bring a huge influx of northern clubs into that conference and perhaps a split in conferences would be needed. Good thing is these clubs wouldn't put pressure on existing USARL clubs as they are in areas not overlapping, and NY could handle 2-3 clubs in the vicinity given the population. If things go right, 2015 could be the biggest year yet for RL in the USA. But for now, I have adopted the Philadelphia Fight as my US club. Love the colours (similar to my Rabbitohs ) but like the fact they don't have one of those generic emblems. Spookily they both have casinos as major sponsors.The fist with the ring is a good one. Have a soft spot for the Brooklyn Kings, Boston 13's Rhode Island Rebellion & Jax Axe. So go Fight : http://www.fightrugby.com/
code 13
Roar Guru
What's the likelihood of the USARL incorporating the remaining AMNRL teams in 2015? It would be a shame for established teams with rugby league communities to fall by the way side.
Cathar Treize
Roar Guru
The article from Brooklyn: http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/hey-brooklyn-%E2%80%98try%E2%80%99-rugby-change-2014-06-03-173000
Danno
Guest
League is easier for the American supporter to understand with its similarities to American Footballm
Cathar Treize
Roar Guru
Well it is good news that the USARL seem more capable of leading rugby league in the US. Unfortunately the AMNRL were not and their RLWC2013 participation was largely a farce despite the QTR final run. There has been no follow thru and the disintegration of their comp is indicative of the failures of the AMNRL. Heck, even Canada were overtaking the Americans in a shorter space of time. They have large sponsors in Fosters, Novotel, Boost Juice, their own rugby league show on Sportsnet, participation in the U/19 Commonwealth Games tournament in Scotland prior to the proper games, and their national side plays regular internationals in front of 5,000 plus crowds. A stronger presence in the US for rugby league will be a boost not only domestically but for countries like Canada and Jamaica where everyone loves to try & knock off the yanks.
Billy
Roar Rookie
Great - sounds exciting.
Billy
Roar Rookie
Yes true Tito - Rugby has certainly gained over the past fee years with internationals and the college 7's getting on TV. I was just making the point of the potential as outside of the enthusiast there is no real understanding of the different codes. There is potential with many kids not playing American Football now and Lacrosse in particular picking up and Rugby Union also. League being closer to football has potential there.. It is way behind the long history that Rugby Union has as you point out.
Tito
Guest
It's unfair to compare the two sports. Rugby union has a long history in the US and is booming at all levels, only England has more clubs. Also the collegiate system has allowed for extra growth with over 50 colleges now offering scholarships and the Varsity final being shown on NBC after the Kentucky Derby. The best news about this is finally the process of beginning an underage comp.
Danno
Guest
The USARL has been very transparent in the way they have been governed and administered. Most clubs are run like a business with supporters in mind. And with solid support comes financial backing from sponsors. For many years league over here has been run in the "club" style with an internal focus which has stifled growth. You will see nothing but growth in years to come under thks model.
Damo
Guest
Great story. Good to see growth for the game in the US. Like in AUS we have seen some solid structure and growth since introducing a single national body.
Billy
Roar Rookie
Trouble is the petty squabbling that holds RL back with the AMNL basically rudderless and if anything highlights what could have been. The CEO of the Axeman by all accounts is a good operator and has the game at heart rather than out for a sale as the AMNRL appeared to be. It looks like this is the cleanse US League needed from afar. This weekend the US RU team plays Scotland in Houston before probably around 20,000 in a purpose built stadium. That shows were Rugby League could be if operated correctly given a similar player draw and the popularity of NRL on Fox Sports and to a lesser extent Super League.
Pulu
Guest
Rugby union in the US is govern by USA Rugby
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
The way it is shaping up with the AMNRL( treading water at best),and seeing the RLIF requirements for future RLWcs ,a single governing body will be the requirement.And it looks like it will be the USARL. The USARL appears to be not only the most professional but go head of the two.Their growth and junior development in the areas they operate,is proof indeed.Now moving into mid USA.They have done more in three or so years,than the other body for many. The Jacksonville Axeman (the leading USARL club)got their phoot on the front cover of the Florida Yellow Pages 12 months ago,which had a circulation running into the hundreds of thousands. Still a long way to go,but development and growth of the code is happening.Most importantly from a junior base now.
HARRY HOPWORTHY
Guest
Rugby League in the U.S.A, only needs the ONE governing body. Two governing bodies for the same sport will totally mess up the game in that country. I don't know very much about Rugby Union in America, but one assumes that game is governed by a single authorative entity.