AS IRELAND AND New Zealand were going through their final preparations on Friday at Soldier Field, there were important meetings taking place just up the road at the opulent Chicago Athletic Association hotel.
The ‘United by Rugby Summit’ included an announcement of the 27 cities that have applied to host games at the 2031 World Cup in the US.
Arizona, Atlanta, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York/New Jersey, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, St. Louis, Vancouver, and Washington DC have put their hands up.
World Rugby will whittle them down to around 15 venues in the next couple of years, with a view to ensuring that there is a good mix of stadium sizes to cater for all fixtures at the 24-team tournament.
The idea is that competing nations will be matched with cities where they have big diasporas. So Ireland might play in Chicago and Boston, while Argentina could be in Miami, and New Zealand would be on the West Coast.
At those meetings in the latter part of this week in Chicago was IRFU CEO Kevin Potts, whose union have already been showing their great interest in the US.
The 2016 game against New Zealand in Chicago was followed by a clash with Italy here in 2018. Ireland would have played the US in Las Vegas in 2021 but for Covid, while this latest meeting with the All Blacks adds to the history. Yesterday was a damp squib in many fans’ eyes, but the IRFU and New Zealand Rugby made significant money from it.
They will both be back again, with Potts confirming that the IRFU plans to play Ireland games in the US once a year moving forward.
Advertisement
It remains to be seen exactly where those games slot into the calendar but the strong likelihood is that they will take place just before World Rugby’s international windows, as was the case for this weekend’s game.
Soldier Field was a 61,841 sell-out yesterday. Gary Carr / INPHO
Gary Carr / INPHO / INPHO
When you have centralised control over your players, it means you can pick and choose what suits best.
It also seems likely that Ireland will continue to play in Chicago or perhaps Boston, although the IRFU and World Rugby are keen for a wider American audience to be tapped into.
Potts said there are an estimated 40 million Irish-Americans in the States, and the union is keen to engage as many of them as possible.
Of course, a large portion of the Irish support yesterday at Soldier Field travelled from Ireland specifically for the game, and it will be interesting to see if annual US fixtures remove the novelty factor. It’s not cheap coming to America for even a short holiday.
Potts said the IRFU definitely won’t bring any of their home Six Nations fixtures, which are so lucrative, to the US. In contrast, New Zealand Rugby CEO Mark Robinson said the Kiwis are absolutely open to bringing home Rugby Championship games to America.
Some of the Irish provincial teams have explored the possibility of taking their games over to the States and that’s something that World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin would like to see, even if Test rugby will be the biggest draw.
World Rugby has been talking about cracking the American market for decades, but it finally seems to be a case of putting money where their mouth is. As well as the US getting the hosting rights for 2031 and the Women’s World Cup in 2033, it’s understood that World Rugby will invest around $250 million in American rugby in the build-up to those competitions.
Bringing high-profile games like this weekend’s one to the US is seemingly a big part of the strategy. It is worrying that no one seems to be mentioning the grassroots, which is where the bulk of the investment should really be going.
Irish fans at Soldier Field. Gary Carr / INPHO
Gary Carr / INPHO / INPHO
Ireland and New Zealand will likely remain in cahoots with these games in the US. The Kiwis also have direct control over their players, who are seemingly a big part of the commercial mission. All Blacks players are said to receive a sizeable percentage of the commercial income generated by the team, so perhaps it’s no surprise they seem so willing to engage with sponsors and media while on these trips to the US.
Robinson believes that Kiwi rugby is still only scratching the surface of what’s possible in the States.
The IRFU got in on the act too in recent days. For example, a group of 600 supporters paid in to watch the captain’s run at Soldier Field on Friday and meet the Irish players, with Andy Farrell speaking at a lunch for those fans afterwards.
There is a lot of wealth in the US, plenty of it in that big Irish-American community, so it makes sense for the IRFU to continue trying to grow its connection to the US.
The All Blacks are certainly on top in the rivalry on the pitch with Ireland, having won the last three games, but there’s no doubt that the fixture generates major interest.
Sadly, the production of yesterday’s game, as well as the stop-start nature of it, let a lot of fans down. That was all the more jarring because Potts had spoken on Friday about the IRFU learning from the fan entertainment and engagement at sporting events in the US. To be fair, the Americans usually get it right but Soldier Field yesterday was off colour.
When they come back again next year, Ireland will be hoping there are more fireworks on the pitch.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
16 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Ireland plan to play games in the US on an annual basis
AS IRELAND AND New Zealand were going through their final preparations on Friday at Soldier Field, there were important meetings taking place just up the road at the opulent Chicago Athletic Association hotel.
The ‘United by Rugby Summit’ included an announcement of the 27 cities that have applied to host games at the 2031 World Cup in the US.
Arizona, Atlanta, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York/New Jersey, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, St. Louis, Vancouver, and Washington DC have put their hands up.
World Rugby will whittle them down to around 15 venues in the next couple of years, with a view to ensuring that there is a good mix of stadium sizes to cater for all fixtures at the 24-team tournament.
The idea is that competing nations will be matched with cities where they have big diasporas. So Ireland might play in Chicago and Boston, while Argentina could be in Miami, and New Zealand would be on the West Coast.
At those meetings in the latter part of this week in Chicago was IRFU CEO Kevin Potts, whose union have already been showing their great interest in the US.
The 2016 game against New Zealand in Chicago was followed by a clash with Italy here in 2018. Ireland would have played the US in Las Vegas in 2021 but for Covid, while this latest meeting with the All Blacks adds to the history. Yesterday was a damp squib in many fans’ eyes, but the IRFU and New Zealand Rugby made significant money from it.
They will both be back again, with Potts confirming that the IRFU plans to play Ireland games in the US once a year moving forward.
It remains to be seen exactly where those games slot into the calendar but the strong likelihood is that they will take place just before World Rugby’s international windows, as was the case for this weekend’s game.
When you have centralised control over your players, it means you can pick and choose what suits best.
It also seems likely that Ireland will continue to play in Chicago or perhaps Boston, although the IRFU and World Rugby are keen for a wider American audience to be tapped into.
Potts said there are an estimated 40 million Irish-Americans in the States, and the union is keen to engage as many of them as possible.
Of course, a large portion of the Irish support yesterday at Soldier Field travelled from Ireland specifically for the game, and it will be interesting to see if annual US fixtures remove the novelty factor. It’s not cheap coming to America for even a short holiday.
Potts said the IRFU definitely won’t bring any of their home Six Nations fixtures, which are so lucrative, to the US. In contrast, New Zealand Rugby CEO Mark Robinson said the Kiwis are absolutely open to bringing home Rugby Championship games to America.
Some of the Irish provincial teams have explored the possibility of taking their games over to the States and that’s something that World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin would like to see, even if Test rugby will be the biggest draw.
World Rugby has been talking about cracking the American market for decades, but it finally seems to be a case of putting money where their mouth is. As well as the US getting the hosting rights for 2031 and the Women’s World Cup in 2033, it’s understood that World Rugby will invest around $250 million in American rugby in the build-up to those competitions.
Bringing high-profile games like this weekend’s one to the US is seemingly a big part of the strategy. It is worrying that no one seems to be mentioning the grassroots, which is where the bulk of the investment should really be going.
Ireland and New Zealand will likely remain in cahoots with these games in the US. The Kiwis also have direct control over their players, who are seemingly a big part of the commercial mission. All Blacks players are said to receive a sizeable percentage of the commercial income generated by the team, so perhaps it’s no surprise they seem so willing to engage with sponsors and media while on these trips to the US.
Robinson believes that Kiwi rugby is still only scratching the surface of what’s possible in the States.
The IRFU got in on the act too in recent days. For example, a group of 600 supporters paid in to watch the captain’s run at Soldier Field on Friday and meet the Irish players, with Andy Farrell speaking at a lunch for those fans afterwards.
There is a lot of wealth in the US, plenty of it in that big Irish-American community, so it makes sense for the IRFU to continue trying to grow its connection to the US.
The All Blacks are certainly on top in the rivalry on the pitch with Ireland, having won the last three games, but there’s no doubt that the fixture generates major interest.
Sadly, the production of yesterday’s game, as well as the stop-start nature of it, let a lot of fans down. That was all the more jarring because Potts had spoken on Friday about the IRFU learning from the fan entertainment and engagement at sporting events in the US. To be fair, the Americans usually get it right but Soldier Field yesterday was off colour.
When they come back again next year, Ireland will be hoping there are more fireworks on the pitch.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Boston Chicago Ireland IRFU New Zealand USA