How To Understand USA Rugby
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Date: Mon, 15 Feb 2010 |
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USA Rugby has a unique opportunity to develop new sustainable structures and programs to develop the game and move USA Rugby in to the top nations in world rugby. There are 63,000 registered players at all levels and we are experiencing significant expansion in participation. Youth / high schools / colleges and clubs players are the backbone of USA Rugby. We must and will focus our major effort on putting the best structures and support systems to support them. We need to change the way we are structured, how we fund and resource the game around the US.
For most US players, college rugby represents the first level competition, but because rugby is the fastest growing high school sport, this may change in the next ten years. Rugby is also growing at the collegiate level. There are currently 5 NCAA Varsity Women’s Rugby Programs: Eastern Illinois University (Division 1); West Chester University (Division 2); and Bowdoin College, Southern Vermont College, and Norwich University (Division 3).
History
On May 14, 1874, Harvard University hosted Montreal’s McGill University, in Cambridge, Mass., for what would be the first recorded rugby game on American soil. It was the first of three games proposed by McGill. And, under the rules of “The Boston Game”, Harvard won 3 - 0. Those first two games were to be played in Cambridge, one under Harvard’s rules, the other under McGill’s rules. The third game would be played in Montreal under McGill’s rules. The next day the two teams played to a scoreless tie under the McGill rules. Harvard was so taken by McGill’s rules that they adopted them. And, that Harvard/McGill series sparked an interest on college campuses nationwide. As American rugby’s popularity began to grow, rugby was soon included as a sport in four Olympic Games (1900, 1908, 1920, 1924), and the United States claimed victories in both the 1920 and 1924 Games.
U.S. National Teams
The USA Men’s National Team, nicknamed the Eagles, won the Gold Medal in Olympic rugby in 1920 and 1924. After that time, rugby in the US stagnated while continuing to grow in the rest of the world and only recently has rugby started to become popular again in the US. Beginning in the 1960s and continuing through the 1970s the sport of rugby union enjoyed a renaissance in the USA. This created the need for a national governing body to represent the USA. In 1975 four territorial organizations (Pacific Coast, West, Midwest and East) gathered in Chicago, Illinois to form the United States of America Rugby Football Union (now known as USA Rugby).
The early Eagles sides were renowned for their fearless and aggressive American football-style tackling technique. From 1976 to 2007, the Eagles have played 149 tests, winning 47 of them. And, although they have yet to beat a founding IRB country (England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, France, New Zealand, Australia, or South Africa) over the years they’ve defeated several Tier 2 nations such as Canada, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Japan. Competing in international tournaments like the Churchill Cup and the Pan American Championship, as well as specially scheduled matches against world powers such as France and Ireland, the Eagles have qualified for five of the six Rugby World Cups, most recently with the Rugby World Cup Qualifier (home and away) Series against Uruguay in the fall of 2006.
Popularity
The International Rugby Board has also announced that a record number of countries have formally expressed an interest to host IRB Rugby World Cup Sevens 2009. IRB Member Unions Arabian Gulf, Australia, Hong Kong, Kenya, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia and USA have all informed the IRB of their interest to tender for the tournament that will incorporate both a men’s and a women’s competition. For the first time women will have their own Rugby World Cup Sevens, taking place alongside the men’s event in the same host city. Indeed USA College Rugby is getting all the popularity.
USA Rugby
http://dirk83acosta.blog.com/2010/01/18/usa-rugby/
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