Gerry Thornley: World Rugby is wasting its time trying to break America

Even the mere suggestion that a Six Nations game might be moved to the US, and specifically an Ireland-Italy match, was alarming on a couple of fronts. On foot of Six Nations opening night being moved to Thursday last season, it was already clear that the needs of television superseded things like tradition and travelling supporters.But then it quickly became clear that a Six Nations game being held in the US any time soon was something of a non-runner. Only that took us to the other alarming aspect of this suggestion, for it was given sustenance by the World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin last week ahead of the South Africa-New Zealand match in Baltimore.“In terms of the matchday economics, [South Africa v New Zealand] is like a Six Nations match,” Gilpin told The Telegraph before suggesting that one of the six unions partner with World Rugby by taking a game to the USA.No doubt, being within the echo chamber of last week’s Baltimore bubble emboldened the belief within World Rugby and USA Rugby that they can make a World Cup there work in 2031.READ MORELast Saturday’s crowd of 68,173 at Baltimore Ravens’ stadium, for the concluding fourth Test in the modestly entitled Greatest Rivalry series, was the largest ever for a rugby international in the US. But a one-off Test between South Africa and New Zealand is not remotely comparable to a Six Nations game in the context of matchday economics.Last Saturday’s game was one of several instances of rugby dipping its toes into the US since it was awarded the 2031 World Cup. World Rugby will point out that there were no rival bids to the US after they launched their bid in October 2021. But granting USA Rugby “exclusive targeted dialogue” the following month, even though the four home unions were considering a joint submission, didn’t particularly encourage other bids.Since the dawn of the professional era, the US has been considered the game’s great untapped rugby gold mine. If anything, though, the sport has fallen further adrift there. Witness the sharp decline of Major League Rugby, which fell to a new low of just six franchises in 2026.Mike Evans of the San Francisco 49ers scores a touchdown in the third quarter of the NFL game against Los Angeles Rams at Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia, last Friday. Photograph: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images The sport simply doesn’t register on the American sporting psyche. The US has its own version of the game and it’s called American football. What’s more, the NFL season starts in September, so having the 2031 World Cup in its customary window would mean it overlaps with the NFL. Moving it to the summer would see it clash with the Fifa Women’s World Cup. The sheer vastness of the US must also be a consideration. While hosting 52 matches there can tap into US diversity – such as the Polynesian population on the west coast – there’s a real danger of a Rugby World Cup being lost there. Comparisons with the Fifa World Cup are not valid, as ‘soccer’ is much more than a niche or minority sport, especially at underage level.Their professional league is comparatively vibrant and when co-hosting this year’s Fifa Men’s World Cup, the US backed up their opening 4-1 win over Paraguay by beating Australia to top their group en route to reaching the last 16.For a World Cup to have any hope of succeeding in the US, it would require a competitive US team. If there is one thing American fans will not support, it’s a losing side. Since winning their first Rugby World Cup match against Japan in Brisbane in 1987, the Eagles have won just two of their ensuing 28 matches in the finals of the competition. Those two wins came against Japan in 2003 and Russia, on a 13-6 scoreline, in 2011.That was a week after restricting Ireland to a 22-10 win in New Plymouth, but the US lost all four pool matches in 2015 (including a 64-0 defeat to South Africa) and again in 2019, against England (45-7), France (33-9), Argentina (47-17) and Tonga (31-9).They didn’t even qualify for the 2023 tournament after losing playoff contests against both Uruguay and Chile. Since then, they have lost all six matches against Tier 1 countries – 85-0 against Scotland last November and 63-14 against Japan last Saturday being the most recent of those losses.The USA women’s rugby team, as those in Tallaght this Sunday can testify, is strong. But unlike men’s rugby, women’s rugby is part of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association).The US men's rugby team has been struggling for years. Photograph: Scott Taetsch/Getty Images It would also help if the 15-a-side game were in the Olympics, or if business interests were to revive the Major League Rugby as a precursor to maybe having a URC team on the east coast and a Super Rugby franchise based on the west coast. These are the kind of baby steps USA Rugby should be taking before being plunged into hosting a World Cup.True, reservations abounded before Japan hosted the 2019 World Cup. But Japan has a more viable professional league and a more competitive national team. The Brave Blossoms’ win over Ireland registered with people in Tokyo in a way that rugby simply cannot in the USA.What’s more, while the USA may change in five years’ time and hopefully it will, it is not a particularly welcoming country these days. Certainly not as welcoming as Australia will prove to be next year.It’s a mystery why rugby doesn’t further its investment into Italy by having a World Cup there. Italy hasn’t even hosted a Champions Cup final, whereas there have been two in Spain. Unlike the USA, Italy boasts two professional sides and has been competing in the Six Nations since 2000.It hasn’t penetrated the football-obsessed Italian landscape but as Jannik Sinner has shown, doors can be forced ajar. A World Cup could be a lightning rod for Italian rugby in a way that will not be the case in America.Italy has the infrastructure and stadiums to host a World Cup. It also would be a popular and welcoming destination for rugby fans from all over the world, as has been demonstrated by Six Nations weekends in Rome.After all, who doesn’t want to go to Italy?gerry.thornley@irishtimes.com