US Rugby World Cups: what will 2031 and 33 mean for the American game?

From the US men’s and women’s national teams to the boardroom at Meta, from the grassroots of the American game up to Capitol Hill, reaction to the award of the men’s Rugby World Cup 2031 and the women’s event in 2033 was the same.

Naya Tapper, a sevens Olympian and 15s Eagles wing, spoke for many: “I think it shows the growth of the sport and how far it’s come – and how far we have to go.”

American rugby union is celebrating but hard work lies ahead.

“It’s a beautiful thing to know I can attend a huge rugby event like the World Cup in the United States,” said Tapper, who ran track in high school then found rugby at college in North Carolina.

“But we need more eyes on the sport, which would lead to more players and a deeper pool depth and being able to get more scholarships, more professional rugby leagues, not just the national team or MLR for the men.”

Tapper and Perry Baker, twice world player of the year, are part of Premier Rugby Sevens, a start-up in which men and women play for equal pay and compete for one prize. Looking to the 15-a-side World Cups, its chief executive, Owen Scannell, said PR7s could help grow “the domestic audience as well as the path to the professional tiers, especially in the women’s game”.

Baker echoed Tapper, saying the World Cups must be used to help more young Americans find the sport, as he did in Florida with the Daytona Beach Coconuts, but also to provide a clearer path to the top.

“Remember the Olympics is going to be here in 2028,” Baker said, pointing to Los Angeles, where sevens will be played. “So the sky’s the limit, really.”

American rugby lovers, alas, know limits all too well. From high school to college, from the amateurs to the pros of Major League Rugby, clubs grapple with