Major League Rugby

[Mellsblue]

https://x.com/seawolvesrugby/status/169 ... MV3j-SK8yQ

[Puja]

Rugby ATL have been bought out and moved to Los Angeles: https://www.majorleague.rugby/news/majo ... svWZgg3OdU

Sad, but ATL has been an utter basketcase for a while. Management failing to engage with fans, that stupid name, rebrand that everyone hated, poor marketing - it was coming and better that it's been rescued and moved elsewhere than just allowed to die.

Puja

[Mellsblue]

https://x.com/bedfordbluesrfc/status/17 ... MV3j-SK8yQ

[Puja]

https://x.com/bedfordbluesrfc/status/17 ... MV3j-SK8yQ

That's a good signing for the Legion - he'll do well there. Frankly, if he settles, I don't see any reason why he couldn't be playing for the US in 5 years' time.

Have you seen the latest news from the league though? Toronto Arrows have folded after the founder and owner died and his heirs didn't have the same enthusiasm for bankrolling a rugby club.

ETA. But in good news, have just seen Seattle have signed Tevita Kuridrani - hell of a signing!

Puja

[Mellsblue]

Hadn’t seen that. Another example of how precarious the finances are.

[Mellsblue]

Here’s the answer to my question ‘How can Nordli-Kelemeti not get in to this terrible Newcastle team?’

https://x.com/nefreejacks/status/173100 ... MV3j-SK8yQ

[Puja]

Ooft. New York's just folded as well. Not great for the league as a whole to contract this suddenly and across two very big markets.

Puja

[Mellsblue]

If you can make it in New York you can make it anywhere…

[Puja]

If you can make it in New York you can make it anywhere…

And apparently rugby can't, at least not now. Mind, RUNY/NY Ironworkers always seemed to be a bit of a muddle. I say this having no money of my own with which to buy and run a professional rugby club, but it always seemed like they tried to do it low-key and on-the-cheap, which just isn't going to attract any attention in New York. Open with a fanfare, playing at the Red Bull Stadium, advertise this brand new exciting attraction bringing this big-time sport to New York and, while it would be bloody expensive to run, it would at least stand a chance of catching enough attention to become self-sustaining. It'd be glory or bust - sure you'd need 10k crowds to make it work, but with the population of New York, that's not out of the question.

Playing in penny-hapenny stadia in Hoboken and Coney Island, scrabbling with crowds of 1-1.5k - might've been cheaper to run, but it relegated them to being "that little weird minor sport" to anyone who came across them, assuming anyone outside of the rugby community did even actually hear of them.

Puja

[Mellsblue]

https://x.com/usmlr/status/173329552090 ... MV3j-SK8yQ

Toronto and NY players exempt from the salary cap.

[Mellsblue]

If you can make it in New York you can make it anywhere…

And apparently rugby can't, at least not now. Mind, RUNY/NY Ironworkers always seemed to be a bit of a muddle. I say this having no money of my own with which to buy and run a professional rugby club, but it always seemed like they tried to do it low-key and on-the-cheap, which just isn't going to attract any attention in New York. Open with a fanfare, playing at the Red Bull Stadium, advertise this brand new exciting attraction bringing this big-time sport to New York and, while it would be bloody expensive to run, it would at least stand a chance of catching enough attention to become self-sustaining. It'd be glory or bust - sure you'd need 10k crowds to make it work, but with the population of New York, that's not out of the question.

Playing in penny-hapenny stadia in Hoboken and Coney Island, scrabbling with crowds of 1-1.5k - might've been cheaper to run, but it relegated them to being "that little weird minor sport" to anyone who came across them, assuming anyone outside of the rugby community did even actually hear of them.

Puja

Reading replies under official statements, there’s plenty of moaning about moving around stadia. There’s a couple that say that Hoboken was by far the worst facility but the easiest to get to and had the best atmosphere, and that they team should’ve stayed there whilst building a solid supporter base.

[Mellsblue]

https://x.com/usmlr/status/173683422869 ... MV3j-SK8yQ

[Puja]

8 team playoffs in an 11 team league seems somewhat over the top.

Puja

[Mellsblue]

https://x.com/raysrugby/status/17437764 ... MV3j-SK8yQ

[Puja]

MLR looks to be in trouble. New Orleans have announced that they will "sit out the 2026 season" - allegedly with plans to return in 2027, but they'll lose all their players and surely the majority of their fans, so will they really return?? And now there are rumours of the league initiators and most off-field-successful brand, the San Diego Legion, dying in a merger with LA.

Gods only know where that leaves RWC 2031. I'm beginning to think that the USA is an insuperable problem.

Puja

[Puja]

And literally as I typed that, the merger for "The California Legion" was announced. Maybe the league should've been organised as a team per state originally, but can't imagine San Diego fans will have too much love for a team that moves around and plays all over the place and I can't see how a team works without season-ticket holders and die-hards.

Puja

[Puja]

And now Miami's gone as well, with rumours that Utah are struggling financially. Could be dominos.

Puja

[newgalesurf]

Maybe this is the plan, and expanded United Rugby Chapionship. Don't see how the hell this would work though:

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/reports- ... n-america/

[Puja]

Maybe this is the plan, and expanded United Rugby Chapionship. Don't see how the hell this would work though:

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/reports- ... n-america/

Frankly, I'm not sure it'd be a great idea for the URC. The travel costs would be incredible, the timezones would be tremendously awkward for both jetlag and broadcast, and the quality of opposition would lead to embarrassing scorelines.

In addition, the bromide of "stateside interest in rugby is only going to grow ahead of the USA hosting back-to-back World Cups in 2031 and 2033" can be repeated as much as one likes, but it's not currently proving to be true. RWC 2031 won't ever be a financial flop, as there will be expats and businessmen and traveling fans galore who will buy the tickets, but rugby is not breaking through in any way shape or form. The native rugby fans would generally prefer having their own league (especially since the country's so large and divided that a team in Florida would mean nothing to fans in Georgia), and the average Yank sports fan won't be exercised by the idea of competing against Celtic or Italian teams - they don't know what country Leinster is in, let alone care about them putting a cricket score on a Miami team

The only beneficiary would be the USA national team, as hothousing two teams of All-Americans (presumably on the IRB's credit card) against higher grade opposition would give them a chance to do a Uruguay and improve through cohesion.

Puja