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Sleeping giant: US rugby starting to stir

31st October, 2014
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The sleeping giant that is United States rugby is stirring.

When it awakes and the transition from niche sport to professional status is complete, most agree it will change the face of the sport globally.

USA Rugby boss Nigel Melville told NZ Newswire a packed Soldier Field in Chicago for Saturday’s Test between the All Blacks and the US Eagles represents a one-off reward for a job well done.

He will enjoy the occasion but says when the hoopla fades next week, the complex task of building a foundation to US rugby will resume.

Attracting a crowd of 61,500 to a home Test would have been a pipedream when he started in the role eight years ago.

And even a year ago the former England captain thought he would face a stiff task selling half that number of tickets, which was needed to break even financially.

No crowd of more than 21,000 had ever watched a Test in the US, let alone be broadcast free to 115 million homes.

He says the uptake underlines the pulling power of the All Blacks and the benefit of hosting a unique event in a sports-mad city.

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However, it also reflects considerable growth at US grass roots level.

Melville is yet to see the demographic of ticket-holders, but suspects the majority have come from all corners of the US.

He has funnelled his resources into youth development, resulting in a surge of USA Rugby registered players, from 50,000 to 115,000 over the last five years.

The number of clubs has more than doubled to beyond 1000, with most of them harbouring junior teams – formerly a gaping hole in their structure.

About two million children aged under 12 have sampled non-contact after-school rugby programs.

“It’s significantly bigger than it was, but we’ve still got a long way to go,” Melville says.

“A professional league is on the agenda, it’s just how quickly we can make it happen.”

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Until then, the premier athletes in the US are still likely to pursue lucrative careers in American football, basketball and baseball.

The difference now is the cast-offs will have a familiar net to fall into.

“The thing about professional sports here is that they cut players very quickly,” Melville says.

“Those players can now come back to rugby if they played it when they were younger. They know the game and want to play the game.”

Sevens rugby remains at the sharp end of the sales pitch to the American public.

It is shorter, more spectacular and the rules simpler.

If the US qualify for sevens at the 2016 Olympics, it will garner far more interest than the Chicago Test, Melville predicts.

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“Sevens every four years will be very special to us.

“Fifteens is our every-year sport.”

The coach of the world No.18 ranked Eagles, Mike Colkin, doesn’t want Chicago to be a one-off.

This week has attracted more media interest than any of their six previous World Cup campaigns, where success has been infrequent.

“If we can follow up with games, maybe not of the All Blacks’ magnitude, but similar, I think that’s important.

“We need consistency and not just one shot and then everyone forgets about it.”

New Zealand coach Steve Hansen is wary of how strong the US could become if they get it right.

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The potential resources and enormous athlete pool is mind-blowing but they can only achieve it by sticking to Melville’s patient, youth-first approach.

“The big advantage New Zealand has is that our kids play rugby basically from birth,” he said.

“You’ve got 300 million people here. Some of them are going to be pretty good at it.”

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