Premiership Rugby Coming To New York: London Irish To Take Top Flight To U.S. Fans For First Time
Aviva Premiership Rugby plans to play a match in New York during the upcoming 2015-16 season — the first time United States fans will get an in-person look at any English top-flight sports league playing a game that counts. The London Irish club are reportedly in final negotiations to bring one Premiership rugby match across the pond, probably on or near St. Patrick’s Day, March 17 of next year.
The NFL has been aggressive in bringing its American version of football to an overseas fandom, playing at least one in-season game in the United Kingdom each season since 2007. The NFL staged two regular-season games at London’s Wembley Stadium in 2013, and three last year — with three more scheduled for the 2015 season.
But until now, no major English sports competition has reciprocated. Rugby, of course, is a form of football that bears a strong resemblance to American football and in fact, the American version of the game is believed to have evolved directly from its English counterpart, rugby football, which takes its name from the elite English school where the game was first played in the early 19th century.
London Irish finished 10th out the 12 teams in the Aviva Premiership last season. The league plays a 22-game schedule — with each team playing every other team in home and away matches — that runs from September until late May. The regular season is followed by a playoff series involving the top four teams in the league.
While the London Irish have not officially announced the New York match yet, and a potential opponent remains undetermined, the Premiership has its sites set on a major venue.
The club plays an annual St. Patrick’s Day game in England, which generally attracts upwards of 20,000 fans — a large crowd for the Aviva Premiership. But a one-off St. Patrick’s Day game in the New York area, Premiership officials believe, could be a blockbuster.
According to a report in London’s Telegraph newspaper, the league is aiming to put the game into MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey — home to both the New York Giants and Jets of the NFL. The stadium also hosted the 2014 Super Bowl.
The Telegraph said that league sources anticipate that a St. Patrick’s Day game there could draw as many as 80,000 fans.
The United States governing body of the sport, USA Rugby, has its sights set on establishing a professional rugby league in the U.S., while the USA will host the 2018 World Cup of Rugby Sevens, a version of the sport with seven players per team instead of 15, as in more traditional forms of rugby.
Bringing an in-season Aviva Premiership Rugby match to New York, league officials hope, will help ignite the move to create a pro rugby league in the United States.
[Image: Warren Little/Getty Images]
