Major League Rugby

[rowan]

The first official press release from Major League Rugby has arrived a few weeks earlier than expected. In it is confirmation that nine cities will take part in the inaugural season, with one deviation from the original list reported in February. The rumor of a team in Minneapolis has been confirmed though not explicitly connected to Metropolis Rugby Club. Now missing from the group is Chicago, with the proposed association with the Lions now seemingly pushed to 2019, though a ‘final team and venue list’ is due to be released later this year suggesting that more teams may yet be added for 2018.

Also of interest is that the release was delivered from Salt Lake City, where new league commissioner Dean Howes is based. Howes is a former partner and vice-chairman of SCP Worldwide, a private equity firm that specialized in consulting and investment in “undervalued franchises, venues, and media properties.” SCP were the original owners of Major League Soccer side Real Salt Lake, and majority owners of the NHL’s St. Louis Blues from 2006-2011. In 2016 Howes was appointed Senior Strategic Advisor to the Rugby Utah executive leadership team.

While no official timetable has been given for its inaugural kickoff, it is understood that the league is targeting a spring opening to the season. More information on salaries, league structure, broadcasting, etc. will be confirmed ‘in the coming months.’ The press release in its entirety can be read below:

—–

Salt Lake City UT: Beginning in 2018, Major League Rugby (MLR) will launch as a new professional rugby competition in North America. MLR will be the premier rugby competition in the United States. By drawing on the best domestic talent MLR will create an intense, fast paced competition and a top-tier media product. MLR will introduce rugby to the American sports mainstream, provide a focal point for millions of existing fans and bring even more new supporters to the game.

MLR will launch with members in: Glendale, CO; Kansas City, MO; Dallas, TX; Houston, TX; Austin, TX; New Orleans, LA; Seattle, WA; Minneapolis, MN; and Salt Lake City, UT. MLR will announce a final team and venue list, player contract information, and 2018 schedule, in the coming months. Beyond 2018, MLR will expand to more cities with an emphasis on finding the right partners, markets and venues.

Developing the game of rugby is at the core of the MLR model. MLR will create local destinations where rugby fans and families can come together to celebrate the highest levels of the American game. MLR stadia will be gathering places for rugby fans and local communities to gather around the game. By connecting the national to the local, MLR will invite America to join the unique, vibrant rugby family and discover its core values: integrity, passion, solidarity, discipline and respect.

MLR will reinvigorate the American rugby development pathway. By creating outreach programs to bring new players to the game and high-performance pathways to keep the best athletes in the sport, MLR will create the competitive environment to push the American game to the next level.

Rugby is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States and one of the most popular sports in the world, as evidenced by the strong reception it received at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. Rugby’s rising domestic growth and wide-reaching global fan base combine to create a unique environment for a professional league to succeed in the American market. While hundreds of local clubs have helped the sport to take hold in the U.S. during the past decade, Major League Rugby is poised to unite these fans under a common banner as rugby enters the American sports mainstream.

About MLR: MLR is an initiative driven by existing USA Rugby-member teams, in partnership with private investors, who believe that American rugby can thrive at the highest levels: as a commercial enterprise; as an influential player on the international scene; and as a participation sport at the youth and senior level.

[Puja]

Split this off, as I thought it deserved its own thread.

Very interesting news indeed. Sounds like they're admitting that it's a league, rather than the unofficial collection of friendlies that it was previously to avoid legal issues while Pro Rugby was still a thing. I presume that this solidification of plans is a sign that Pro Rugby's licence has been bought out by USAR and that there's not going to be any conflicts, but that's possibly a dangerous assumption given the levels of professionalism shown by USAR previously.

Good geographical split of teams, although interesting that they've stayed away from California completely, considering how much of a hotbed that is for rugby. Maybe they're wary of going there considering there were three Pro Rugby teams in the state, although that hasn't kept them from Denver. Do we know anything about the qualities and backing for the teams that they are having?

Puja

[Puja]

I've managed to find a riposte from the owner of Pro Rugby:

In a brief interview with PRO CEO Doug Schoninger, I asked about his reaction to the media release by Major League Rugby to begin play in spring 2018, he commented: “I saw it but not much detail.” I asked the ever circling question of plans for PRO season two.

“Absolutely,” he said. “As we have done in the past we announce when all the details are in place. We don’t believe in misleading our fans like some other leagues might do. Again we are planning our second season and will protect our assets and rights as necessary.”

I asked for details, any details to provide some form of faith in the PRO fan base that remains.

“All I can say at this time is,” he explained, “that we are planning a bigger league with budgets of three to four times of our first season.”

http://therunnersports.com/professional ... choninger/

Doesn't sound like they've sorted the issue with Pro's exclusive licence. Oh goodie. Mind, it also doesn't sound like there's the slightest chance of an actual season 2 of Pro Rugby, so maybe the licence will lapse if they don't do anything with it.

Puja

[rowan]

Good to see:

New Orleans has confirmed their participation in Major League Rugby starting in 2018. The team will be known as NOLA Gold. Here is the release from the club.
New Orleans Rugby Enterprises, LLC is honored to introduce the passionate sports fans of the city of New Orleans to the first professional rugby team in the city’s history, the New Orleans Gold Rugby Club, or NOLA Gold.
NOLA Gold will build upon the proud and strong rugby community in the city that has existed for decades. Rugby is the fastest-growing sport in the United States and is now played in New Orleans at levels ranging from elementary schools, to high schools and universities, all the way up to adult clubs. From the two-time national champion New Orleans Rugby Football Club, down to the third and fourth graders, NOLA Gold will do its part to develop the sport of rugby, along with its sense of culture and camaraderie, at every level. NOLA Gold will provide an elite professional side for the rugby community and the entire city to support, and to strive towards playing for. Our matches will also provide a new gathering place for all the members of the rugby community to get together, and share a day enjoying the sport that they love. With the New Orleans rugby community at the core, NOLA Gold will look to develop its fan base in the people and sports fans in every corner of the city from the French Quarter to the West Bank, to the Northshore and all the way "Down the Bayou."
We have officially committed to the 2018 Major League Rugby season and will be releasing our team’s logo, stadium information, and more details in the coming weeks.

http://www.thisisamericanrugby.com/2017 ... l?spref=fb

[rowan]

The Washington Irish Rugby Club announces the promotion of its top side team to Division 1 for the upcoming 2017-2018 season. As winners of the 2016-2017 Division 2 Mid-Atlantic Conference Championship, the Irish welcomed the opportunity to move up to Division 1 for the upcoming 15s season. "Moving up to the D1 wasn't something that was decided overnight," stated Julius "Toga" Fanueli, Head Coach of the Washington Irish. "Our Executive Committee worked really hard to create more opportunities for players to play at a higher-level against solid competition. The Irish are also affiliated with Tiger Rugby to create additional pathways for our players to keep growing."

Club President Whitney Stowell, commenting on the promotion, stated, "We would like to thank our players, coaches, Old Boys, sponsors and supporters for a successful D2 season, and we look forward to the upcoming 15s season in D1. Our D3 team that has been critical to developing and supporting the club, and we look to continue growth in D3 this upcoming year as well. Our focus now is shifting to 7s where we are excited to get out and compete with the best."

Take the jump to read more.
The Mid-Atlantic Division 1 Conference includes Baltimore-Chesapeake Brumbies, Norfolk Blues, Pittsburgh Harlequins, Potomac Exiles, Rocky Gorge RFC, Schuylkill River Exiles, and the Washington Irish.

The Irish were founded in 1980 and have D1 and D3 men's teams competing in the Mid-Atlantic Conference of USA Rugby. For more http://www.thisisamericanrugby.com/2017 ... l?spref=fb

[rowan]

Interesting concept - USA Islanders team named (for what and when I have no idea):

Tana Afeaki
Gerson Blaise
Colton Cariaga
Paul Eteaki
Pago Haini
Langi Haupeakui
Olive Kilifi
Patrick Latu
Tua Laei
Devereaux Ferris
Shalom Suniula
Alex Taefu
Maka Tameilau
Veuki Taumoefolau
Jojo Tikoisuva
Sione Tuihalamaka
Tai Tuisamoa
Saia Uhila
Teli Veamatahau
Lole Veimau

http://www.usaislanders.com/team/usa-islanders

Wonder how an NZ Islanders XV would look ??

[Lizard]

The USAI team is playing Saracens during that club's preseason in Bermuda.

As for an NZI team, it depends on what you mean by "Islander". The US one is for US qualified players actually born in the islands, I think.

[rowan]

The article in the link says heritage, so I assumed that meant birth or ancestry. What would be your current NZ Islanders team on this basis? Do you think they would beat the Maori? Could make for an interesting topic but I'm more focused on 3rd tier rugby these days and don't know who half the All Blacks players are anymore.

Should be a good match v Saracens then. I don't think anybody's answered my trivia question yet about how Saracens got their name.

[Lizard]

The article says "island-born heritage", which is a bit ambiguous really.

Picking a team of Islanders (whether birth or ancestry-based) of players eligible for NZ but not current All Blacks (as is usual for NZ Maori) would require knowledge beyond mine, such as which players have such heritage and which are already tied to their Island nations. Would you include players with the requisite heritage, NZ eligibility under the IRB regs but based overseas? I suspect that a lot of the best NZ Islanders not good enough for the All Blacks will be tied to their Island teams, giving the Maori a bit of an edge.

What about a hypothetical tri-series between NZ Maori, NZ Islanders and NZ Pakeha (players not born in the Islands and not claiming any Island or Maori heritage)?

[rowan]

Yes, that would be quite something and probably very competitive. Interestingly the All Blacks used to play the Maori from time to time and always beat them, but that was a long time ago. If I'm not mistaken about a third of the 2015 World Cup team were of Pacific Island ancestry, and it goes without saying that they would have one hell of a backline. Not sure how they'd go in the tight five exchanges, however; and without sufficient possession their electric backline might just not be enough. But we can only hypothesise, of course. It'll never happen for the obvious reasons. It's quite interesting to see the USA select a Pacific Islands heritage team, in fact. Native teams are one thing, but are there any other examples of 'national' teams being picked on the basis of 'foreign ancestry?' I know Auckland and Wellington used to field representative Samoans sides, and I think I once heard about a London Nigerians selection playing somebody, but I'm not sure I know of any other national rugby union teams selected on the basis of ethnicity (other than native).

[Lizard]

I've played against London Nigerian, London French and London Italian. London Welsh and London Irish are well-established.

Half the chat in my Prezzies grade team is in Samoan, does that count?

[rowan]

Not sure London Welsh and Irish are restricted to ethnicity, are they? I thought they were just regular clubs which happened to be founded by expat communities. The criteria here would be selected on the basis of a common foreign ancestry. Yes, there are club and rep teams, but the American Islanders might be the first national team I've heard of other than native.

[rowan]

In fact, I happen to know that the NZRFU once dismissed the concept of a national Islanders team as 'too contentious.' That was way back in my reporting days, so I remember it well.

[Lizard]

In fact, I happen to know that the NZRFU once dismissed the concept of a national Islanders team as 'too contentious.' That was way back in my reporting days, so I remember it well.

Yes, that rings a bell.

I remember that London Nigerian had one white guy (halfback) who wasn't Nigerian. The French team were fucking French. They put on Confit Duck for the after match feed.

[Puja]

Interesting to see that Mike Ford has signed on to coach Dallas Griffins for the opening season of MLR. He's a pretty big name to have got on board, which bodes well for the ambitions of some of these teams.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/ ... ague-rugby

Puja

[rowan]

It's back!!! - with a couple of survivors from the Pro Rugby debacle...

Rugby in the Americas is set to take the professional age again. Scheduled to kick off in spring 2018, Major League Rugby is coming. Big name teams are already signing on, with some serious talent coming in. That said, Major League Rugby does have some serious hurdles to overcome first. There are historic failures of other leagues. Also, the professional sports market is full of choices in the US and abroad.

Some strange names here (Strikers would confuse a few people, that's for sure )

1924 Rugby (Glendale, CO)
Blues Rugby Management (Kansas City, MO)
DFW Major Rugby (Dallas, TX)
Houston Strikers (Houston, TX)
Huns Rugby Management (Austin, TX)
NOLA Rugby Enterprises (New Orleans, LA)
Seattle Rugby LLC (Seattle, WA)
Rugby Utah Ventures (Salt Lake City, UT)

Report continues here: http://lastwordonrugby.com/2017/09/14/m ... ming-care/

[Puja]

Minneapolis has dropped out then?

Puja

[rowan]

Not sure it's finalized. But more likely they were overlooked in favor of a club with a stronger support base. That's my guess, anyway.

[rowan]

News on America’s newest professional rugby competition is heating up. While kickoff is not due until the Spring of 2018 and the league itself is yet to reveal much of its structure, information released from elsewhere is increasing steadily. Multiple sources have now confirmed that San Diego will join Major League Rugby for its inaugural season in 2018. It’s welcome news for the California rugby community, who had been left out of the initial nine-team roster.

That list now looks to have been reduced to eight teams. With San Diego joining up it’s Minneapolis that has dropped out, though it appears to be a migration with some backers involved with the Minneapolis bid – registered under the name Tornadoes Rugby LLC – also behind the San Diego franchise. Those backers have been linked to the Stormers, a South African Super Rugby franchise based in Cape Town.

San Diego was the home of the Breakers during the 2016 PRO Rugby season, one of three California-based franchises. The other two cities – San Francisco and Sacramento – have interested parties but neither will be involved in 2018.

Also believed to be out of the competition, at least for now, is Dallas. The Griffins have reportedly not met their required bond payments for the 2018 season and their involvement looks to have been pushed back to 2019 at the earliest. After making headlines by signing Mike Ford as Director of Rugby, the former Bath and Toulon coach is understood to have applied for both the Canada and USA coaching jobs, each still vacant but due to be filled shortly.

The competition as it stands is moving forward with teams in Seattle (SeaWolves), Glendale (Raptors), Salt Lake City (Rugby Utah), Houston (Strikers), Austin, Kansas City (Blues), New Orleans (Gold), and yet-to-be-named San Diego. Rugby Utah are set to confirm their new logo and name on September 25 with the ‘Warriors‘ the betting favorite, while Austin Elite have separated from the Huns and are also expected to announce a new team name in due course. Kansas City remain known as the Blues but could yet opt to further distance themselves from the amateur club side of the same name.

Recent personnel moves include a first official signing by New Orleans in the form of PRO Rugby MVP Sebastián Kalm, while the Houston Strikers have added Fijian 7s international Josua Vici and most recently former Sacramento Express and Seattle Saracens lock Robert Meeson. Austin have added experienced French coach Alain Hyardet while the SeaWolves have just announced addition of UBC Thunderbirds coach Curry Hitchborn as Director of Development.

Meanwhile expansion plans are well underway and should all go as planned in 2018 a number of teams are set to join in 2019. Chicago were part of the initial team list but have moved their probable inclusion to 2019 with an impressive new complex in the works, while New York is also set to launch with initial friendlies likely in 2018. Speculation is also growing that a Boston franchise could join after plans for a first class rugby facility were revealed by Boston Rugby Club in August.

Fans north of the border have reason to cheer as well. The Ontario Arrows began their journey towards professionalism with a friendly against Glendale earlier this month and will expand their fixture schedule dramatically in 2018 with an eye towards full participation in 2019. A group in Vancouver is determined not to be left behind and while 2018 has come too soon they are also expected to push for inclusion in Year Two. If all goes as planned Canada would well have two MLR teams in 2019.

The ambitious plans are not without obstacles, however, with legal action from PRO Rugby owner Doug Schoninger looming over USA Rugby due to a conflict over terms of their exclusivity agreement. How that affects the sanctioning of the new competition is uncertain with more set to come to light as the 180-day deadline (October 23) for notice of termination in the PRO agreement is fast approaching. The contract itself is set to expire on April 21, 2018.


http://www.americarugbynews.com/2017/09 ... expansion/

[Puja]

Sounds like good news all round. Important to have a team in California given the strength of the game there and, while it's worrying to have a team drop out, Dallas is the one least likely to be missed.

Puja

[rowan]

& here's the team with the most awesome name in rugby - the Seattle Seawolves. That's literal translation of the Inuit term for killer whales, I believe:

Curry Hitchborn Named Director of Rugby Development for Seattle Seawolves: Why This Sounds Like the Start of Pro Rugby in BC

This is probably one of the most exciting developments in BC and Canadian rugby in recent history, not specifically that Curry Hitchborn is becoming Director of Rugby Development for the Seattle Seawolves, even though that's great news. What's more exciting is what lies beneath the tip of the iceberg, some of it is explained below and some will come out in the near future, when we're allowed to share the information publicly.

Curry is a skilled coach who has made his reputation in BC youth rugby, most recently with the U19 team and also as the forwards coach for UBC. UBC went from a competitive Div 1 side to repeat BC Premier champions in a few years under the direction of Curry and Rameses Langston. Both of them won the Gerald McGavin coaching award in separate years. Curry knows the name of every talented youth player in BC, if you doubt that just try to stump him with a name, it's unlikely you'll be successful. Curry will continue with his work in BC as forwards coach for UBC, Director of Youth Rugby at Capilano and Director of Rugby at North Star Rugby. This is where it gets interesting.

North Star Rugby is a company that has emerged in recent years to develop rugby in Vancouver, they really emerged out of Capilano expertise as the principals are involved with the north shore club. They started an academy program with West Vancouver school board, forget doing just one school academy, they did an entire school district, they think big. Karl Harrison is the CEO and the businessman behind the company, bringing over 30 years of experience in the real estate, hospitality and travel sectors in both Europe and North America. He's well connected to the "movers and shakers" of professional rugby in Europe and North America. Brock Turner is a Vice-President at North Star and also on the board of the Vancouver Rugby Union. North Star Rugby is the Canadian company that has invested in the Seattle Seawolves. Now their Director of Rugby is the Director of Rugby Development for Seattle Seawolves of the MLR. Karl has made it clear he wants to bring a MLR franchise to BC in 2019. That's the real exciting part as the pieces start to fall into place and that vision looks very tanglible after today's announcement.

There will be opportunities for Canadian players this coming season with Seattle Seawolves and then in 2019 when, hopefully, the BC franchise starts operation. It feels like the start of pro rugby in BC, that's why we're feeling the excitement. Wait until you hear the news we're not sharing yet, stay tuned!


http://bcrugbynews.com/show_news.cfm?ID=2437

[Mellsblue]

Actually, this might be better here. Competition from rugby league:

Toronto Wolfpack owner Eric Perez plans to launch two more American sides
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/41544831

[rowan]

Well Rugby Union has almost 3000 clubs in the US, 120K registered players, and 1.5 million players in total, according to World Rugby stats. League has precisely 14 clubs and barely 1000 players. Now scale that down to a nation New Zealand's size and you'd be talking 30 rugby union clubs, 1,200 registered players and 15,000 in total, compared to a minor fraction of a rugby league club and about 10 players. You wouldn't want to get too complacent, but I'd say union in the US does not have much to worry about in this regard.

[Mellsblue]

Plans submitted for New York rugby league team to enter English game
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/41631148

[rowan]

It would be a mistake for union to get too complacent, but basically it is so far ahead of league in terms of sheer numbers that not even this presents a serious threat to its superiority. If it begins to, and hordes of union players suddenly stampede across to the 13-man-code, it wouldn't be too hard to stick a union side in European competition as well. But not only is union light years ahead of league in North America, there isn't the same bitter rivalry between the codes that exists in Britain and the Antipodes after decades of poaching and counter-poaching. In fact, the Wolfpack is sponsoring Ontario 'union' 7s in a sign of cooperation between the codes. So if they do well in England, all power to them. It'll likely have a positive spin-off for union as well, simply by getting more Americans watching (and ultimately playing) some variety of rugby.