USA confirmed as the hosts, with 9 years to really kick the game into high gear. The IRB sound as though they plan to get heavily involved with that, which is comforting given USAR's previous history with being unable to organise a piss-up in a brewery
It does need a major kick-start - MLR's been great for rugby fans, but sides are still averaging 2-3k crowds, which is disappointing given it's now in its fifth season. I know COVID has affected everything, but I had hoped for a greater cut-through to the general populace by now and crowds more in the 5k sort of area. I don't know whether it's a lack of marketing or outreach or what, but if Toronto Wolfpack could get 9,000 people to games, then LA and New Orleans should be able to as well and it's disappointing that they're not close to that. Wolfpack were sneered at for throwing discounted and free tickets at people, but fans did turn up for them and, at this stage, rugby needs the exposure and the cachet of decent sized crowds more than it needs money from high ticket prices and empty stadia on television.USA Rugby and World Rugby will now lead a multi-year effort to build anticipation for 2031 and 2033, while developing infrastructure to guarantee successful tournaments. Additionally, USA Rugby will use the next decade to drive significant investment in the game at the youth level, increase access to and diversity in rugby, take rugby to the next level at the high school and college levels, and grow USA Rugby membership to 450,000 members by the beginning of the 2031 Men’s Rugby World Cup.
Puja
