A professional Rugby Union competition structure is to be launched in North America for the 1st time next year, as officials aim to capitalise on the increasing popularity of the sport.
A statement from the Professional Rugby Organization (PRO) said the 6-team league will kick off in April 2016 with the blessing of USA Rugby and World Rugby, the sport’s international governing body.
It will be the 1st time the sport has had a professional league in the region, where rugby is barely noticeable in a sporting landscape dominated by American football, baseball, basketball and ice hockey.
The teams will be based in major metropolitan areas around the northeast United States, the Rocky Mountains and California, a statement said.
Teams from Canada would be added to an expanded competition in 2017.
“As the fastest growing team sport in the USA, it is the time to have a sanctioned professional competition,” USA Rugby chairman Bob Latham said.
“We are very happy to partner with PRO Rugby in taking this step to popularize the game, to inspire Americans to fall in love with rugby, and to show the rugby world what American players can do.”
The league’s inaugural season will be bankrolled by Doug Schoninger, a New York businessman with a background in finance who is PRO Rugby’s chief executive.
“At this point the league’s 1st season is fully funded. It’s all coming from me,” Schoninger said. He declined to give a figure for the total cost of the new venture’s 1st season.
Schoninger said the 6 clubs embarking in the new league will be fully owned by PRO Rugby in a single-entity structure.
Each side will have around 25 – 30 players per roster while maintaining a quota of 5 non-North American players per squad.
“Rugby is a natural fit for our country,” Schoninger said.
“Participation and interest in the sport is at an all-time high and the demand for a professional competition is clear.
“In its inaugural year, the PRO Rugby 2016 season will feature 10 games per club and run from April – July in medium-size venues, allowing fans to connect with their teams, and build the sense of camaraderie and loyalty that the game is associated with. We look forward to working with the existing rugby community to provide a pathway for local players into the professional ranks, completing the pathway from youth player to professional.
“With the completion of the record-breaking 2015 Rugby World Cup in England, and the reintroduction of the sport into the 2016 Rio Olympics, now is the time to launch.
“Professional rugby is a relatively young sport, with players, coaches and fans who are passionate about the game and the values of integrity, discipline, and respect that it inspires. A lot of people feel pro sports used to be a positive influence – it built character and provided role models, but not so much anymore. I believe that by adhering to rugby’s core beliefs, we can reclaim those lost sporting values and provide opportunity for a new generation of North American Rugby players.”
World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper welcomed the announcement.
“We welcome North American teams into the international rugby family,” Gosper said in a statement. “With PRO Rugby in place, US and Canadian players will be able to train year round and play in elite competition, something that has been sorely missing from rugby development in North America.”
Rugby has been played in the United States for more than a century and the USA won the gold medal at the 1920 and 1924 Olympics.
It has increased in popularity in recent years with the men’s Sevens team rapidly becoming a force on the international Sevens circuit.
Chicago’s Soldier Field hosted international matches involving the New Zealand All Blacks in 2014 and Australia in early September.
The English Premiership announced plans last month to stage a regular season league match between London Irish and Saracens in New York in March.
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