Rugby facing uphill battle for American attention

Sept 11 : Rugby players may be muscular, broad-shouldered athletes built to be seen, yet some of the sport's biggest stars barely turned any heads as they walked around Baltimore, Maryland this week.

"We had a few people recognise us, not me necessarily but the guys I walk with," South Africa number eight Jasper Wiese said before Saturday's deciding test against New Zealand in a series branded Rugby's Greatest Rivalry.

That anonymity captures the challenge, and the opportunity, facing rugby as it looks to capture a thin slice of the lucrative and crowded American sports market where the NFL, with its massive TV ratings and giant business deals, commands unmatched attention.

But many of rugby's decision-makers are undaunted and hoping to harness what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to grow the game and its fanbase in the United States given the showcase events happening on American soil within the next decade.

Rugby sevens will be part of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and the United States will stage the men's Rugby World Cup in 2031 for the first time before hosting the women's tournament two years later.

USA Rugby has over 100,000 active members across youth, high school, college and senior club levels, a number the organisation would like to see reach 500,000 by the time the World Cups are held in the United States.

"Where it needs to go, we've got a long ways and a lot of work to do," USA Rugby CEO Bill Goren told Reuters.

'NOT AN EASY SPORT TO LEARN'

Saturday's match, at the 71,000-seat home of the NFL's Ravens, will see the All Blacks and Springboks continue a century-old rivalry as part of the sport's plan to better position itself for a massive breakthrough in the United States.

Rugby is essentially hoping to