RWC Eagles schedule is set

Eagles players, staff and supporters can now begin planning for RWC 2019. Supporters are to have the opportunity of attending matches in different cities.

DATE FIXTURE VENUE CITY KICK-OFF
Thursday September 26 USA vs England Misake Stadium Kobe 7:45pm

Wednesday October 02 USA vs France Level-5 Stadium Fukuoka 4:45pm

Wednesday October 09 USA vs Argentina Kumagaya Rugby Ground Kumagaya 1:45pm

Sunday October 13 USA vs Tonga Hanozono Rugby Stadium Osaka 2:45pm

RLWC 2017: Fiji vs USA

Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 Fan Experience

Fathers Day

To all the Fathers out there, even if your not a actual Dad but play a Father figure roll in someone's life. Happy Fathers Day!

Get Out There And Embrace the Mayhem

Tampa Mayhem commercial, #SaturdayisRugbyday

Brotherhood and responsibility | The Oakland Warthogs

Girls Rugby: Linn Benton Lions vs. Valley Panthers

Late post, from a few weeks ago.

Last Tackle: Inside The Toronto Wolfpack | Ep. 1

Rugby Media

For those of you who have been wanting to fallow USA Rugby or Rugby in North America, here is a list of various media outlets who publish news articles or host talks shows about domestic and international rugby news for North America.

Websites and Blogs-
-  www.thisisamericanrugby.com
- www.americasrugbynews.com
- rugbytoday.com/
- www.goffrugbyreport.com/
- Blog.Ridnell.com
- www.thisistexasrugby.com/
- www.thisisohiorugby.com
- www.thisiscoloradorugby.com
- www.thisisarizonarugby.com
- http://rugbywrapup.com/

Podcasts-
- www.americarugbypod.com
- Ruggamatrixamerica
- WolfinAround : soundcloud.com/wolfinaround


*If you have a Blog/Website or Podcast you would like added to the list feel free to leave a comment or shoot me a email with your link and it will be added and the list will be updated.

Mexico City , 2017 RAN 7s.

MEXICO CITY — Mexico City, home of the Campo Marte athletic grounds, will once again play host to the annual Rugby Americas North (RAN) Sevens tournament on November 25th and 26th, 2017. The international men’s and women’s tournament was last played on the nearly 62 thousand square kilometer facility in 2014. All Members of RAN, including Associate Members and Regional Development Unions are expected to participate. This year’s international competition is a qualifier for the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Sports Organization (CACSO) Games, 2018 Hong Kong Sevens, Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 and Commonwealth Games.

Campo Marte is a military and equestrian venue located next to the National Auditorium in Chapultepec Park, Mexico City. Campo Marte hosts major events on behalf of the Mexican Government. The spacious grounds will house two fields of play, two warm-up areas, medical and team facilities, and covered spectator seating.

“Mexico is really thrilled to once again host the RAN 7s,” said Francisco Echeguren, President of Federacion Mexicana de Rugby. “It’s going to be held in the same beautiful location, at Campo Marte, in the middle of Mexico City, and this year we plan to make upgrades to many aspects of the tournament, including the player areas, live stream and production and the post-tournament social.”

For over a decade RAN has organized the sevens tournament to increase competition within the region and provide member unions a professional setting to showcase the sport’s rapid growth.

“We are extremely pleased that once again the RAN Sevens will be hosted by the Federacion Mexicana de Rugby at the Campo Marte Sports Complex,” said RAN General Manager Niall Brooks. “Campo Marte is a perfect location to hold such a prestigious event, with ample space for two full size, good quality pitches, warm up areas, tented “village” for all teams and excellent covered stands for what hopefully will be a sizeable crowd on both days.

“The 2017 RAN Sevens also has the added bonus of being a regional qualifier for a number of other International Sevens events and therefore we anticipate a record number of Men’s and Women’s teams entering this year. The Federacion Mexicana de Rugby are very accomplished at hosting quality regional tournaments and I am sure everyone now will be looking forward two enthralling and entertaining days of rugby sevens.”       

All participating teams will be finalized by August, with a full schedule to be released shortly after. All matches of the 2017 RAN Sevens tournament will be streamed live on RAN’s youtube channel. Fans can also follow updates on the #RAN7s tournament via Facebook and Twitter.

*Taken straight from Rugby America's North website.

Tampa Mayhem

With the USARL season just around the corner, and the Toronto Wolfpack season in full swing, its time we take a look at some local League clubs in America and get some info from those involved with the USARL. Now I have reached out to the USARL and unfortunately they have no responded to a request for a Q&A, but the Mayhem have been nice enough to take the time out of there busy life's to answer some questions, now these questions where originally meant for the Atlanta Rhinos and they where submitted to someone with in the club , but unfortunately there has been no response back, luckily  Chris Dickenson and CEO/Owner Billy Neilson have responded.

__________________________________________________________________________

LLR- Please introduce your self and how you became involved with the Mayhem and UASRL.

CD- I'm Chris Dickenson. I became involved in the USARL three years ago when I'd reached a point in my life when I wanted to do something different. I'd hit 25/26 and hit a bit of a ground hog day effect where a few years running had felt pretty identical. The years were starting to go quicker and felt I needed to do something 'different' or make a difference somewhere. I had toy'd with the idea of moving to South America, Africa or Asia for 6 months and volunteering somewhere to give something back when I remembered 'Spinner' from the USARL forums and my dad was a pretty keen follower of the USARL and the growth of Rugby League internationally.  I took a punt and reached out to Spinner one cold December morning and heard something back a month or so later.  I was offered three places and I said it made no difference to me where I went.  It was a shock to the girlfriend when I said I was taking off to Tampa!

At the beginning of 2016 five of us purchased the club and we have been present since.

BN- I started with League back in 2008 when I lived in Daytona Beach, I attended the Axmen training camp.  I was playing 7's at the time and knew nothing about League, but wanted to check it out.  I was very impressed by how the Axemen ran there operations, in regard to the professional atmosphere.  In 2009, again when the Axemen held camp, I went up for the fun of it since I was still active with 7's. I moved to Tampa in 2010, but played with the Daytona Gearheads in the SERL reserve grade comp and did that for a few years, then Spinner and Drew Slover from the Axemen asked if they thought I could get a team together for the reserve grade comp in Tampa.  We did and Tampa competed in the reserve grade for a year.  Then the following year, the Tampa Mayhem were formed along with Atlanta and Central Florida, creating the current South competition.  I played and helped with the club for the first two seasons, but injuries ended my playing days.  When I got the phone call about the opportunity to buy the club, I jumped at it and here we are today.

-LLR- What attempts are being made at the Under 18 level and how far off would it be to establish full contact under 18s rugby league tournaments/representative team/s. Or even semi contact from under 13's up, to get players used to basic rugby league skills and slowly feeding them through a system.

CD- This was actually something I was really keen on when I first packed my bags as per above.  I quickly came to realise that it's impossible with the sport at it's current level.  What a lot of people can't appreciate about the US from the outside is liability and insurance is an absolute killer.  The absolute best we can do for now is take kids from 18+ and do what we can with them and try to develop them and this will work in my opinion.  Even players I see in the USARL now, if we'd have gotten hold of them at 18-21 i'm convinced they could play professionally at the lower grades. Tampa only formed in 2014 so there was nowhere for younger guys in the area to play Rugby League but this is improving year on year and whereas we started with guys in their late 20s and 30s, we're now beginning to find guys interested in league in their very early 20s and I believe it won't be too long before we're producing players capable of playing at semi pro level at least. I can say that hand on heart. 

We regularly run kids camps in conjunction with the local Rugby Union club which allows young kids to experience rugby and learn the basics but at this stage, I can't see where we'll progress at youth level from there.

BN- We have a great relationship with the local union club Tampa Krewe, as many of us play(ed) or coached with them, so we hold youth camps in conjunction with them.  That way we get as many kids as we can with a rugby ball in their hands regardless of what code we are.  I think as youth rugby in general grows, it is good for everyone.  League season doesn't conflict with Union season, so it will give kids the options to play 7's or League over the summer.  With that, I still think we are a few years away from any serious talk about a youth team.

LLR- Professional training: Is Tampa looking into forming closer links with professional clubs to get players some full time training experience with a professional club, the benefits of this would be enormous, and of course playing in the local league has already seen an improvement and positive outcome on both sides of the players development.

CD- This pretty much follows on from above but it was about finding better athletes younger to achieve this.  In the US we have pathways available for those that want to take on the opportunity, but the reality is a guy at 28, probably college educated, long term relationship, good career, kids, isn't going to want to travel half way around the world to earn $200 a game playing somewhere. That's just a fact of life unfortunately and it's where we've been at largely. The Toronto Wolfpack experiment last year with the North V South game and professional trial ran by coaches Noble, Rowley and Finnegan was a huge success with 6 of the Last Tackle finalists chosen at the Tampa trial. Some of those were representatives of other clubs but one Mayhem rookie did travel to the UK as part of the Last Tackle documentary final.  The Wolfpack is almost certainly the best route for US based players and although I can't say too much at this stage, we are hoping to replicate the weekend again as a regular fixture in the calendar.

LLR- Reserve grade: Will clubs with overflow of players definitely have a proper 9 a side reserve grade league, giving less experienced players the opportunity to experience rugby league in a somewhat competitive environment.

CD- I can't speak on behalf of the clubs in the North but in the South this is something we've been keen to establish for a while now.  Last year we'd hoped to get this off the ground but I know we at the Mayhem, just didn't have the numbers.  With Lance Hohaia coming in this year for training camp we've had a big boost in interest and the initial numbers on the ground would indicate that we'll be in a position to field a reserve grade this year.  Nothing is set yet, we simply don't know until the numbers are either there or they're not but it is looking promising at this stage and feelers are being put out to other teams.

BN- I have talked to the other Southern teams and I think a reserve grade comp is very achievable this year.  

LLR -Exposure: What efforts will be made to give rugby league enough exposure to ensure a successful tournament and successful USARL to last in the long run?

CD- Exposure is honestly a difficult one. We've really found that at the Mayhem to be frank.  When I first came over it was a harsh learning curve and the average person just doesn't care. The USARL does lay ground rules but like in any league in any sport some are better at running their business than others.  We can't dictate how others run their club, we can only focus on self growth and provide a platform for players to come and develop.  As a club we are growing year on year, followers, sponsorship, player numbers.  Every club has it's own personal battle and challenges and like anywhere, I'm sure some clubs will come and go as the years go by.  Ours is bums on seats. One reality is that the USARL is not flush with money. I don't think I'm breaking any great secret when I say we and other clubs run year to year and our house has to be in order. We don't have swathes of cash to throw at marketing and we have to just focus on growing and improving year on year.

BN- With not having deep pockets, we have to find the balance in proper marketing the sport and putting out a quality product.  I think the way the league is approaching things is smart.  It is conservative growth, but there growth.  As the teams grow, the USARL will grow.

LLR- Assistance: What current assistance is Moore Sports International providing? have they attempted to contact any of the USARL clubs and I believe they are planning to launch a professional competition in the near future, or there are professional bids in waiting to join the RFL.

CD- None whatsoever as far as I am aware. I'm not party to any conversation ongoing between Moore Sports and the USARL but as a club, Tampa have had no contact or support from the organization.  Speaking as myself, away from the club I don't feel the Moore Sports idea will work. Sorry if I offend anyone and I'm all for giving it a go and good luck to them but the interest just isn't here, there's no infrastructure and as far as I can see, none of the existing clubs could step into that league bar potentially Jacksonville so they'd be starting completely from scratch.  I was leaked the bid from a source prior to it going public so I have read it in detail and my personal thoughts are it will not work in that guise and if I had the time I could give you 20 reasons why.  Steve Williams spoke to me last year about an idea he had regarding a club similar to the Wolfpack playing out of Orlando in the RFL system and my first thought was, no way.  As he talked further I actually thought it was a fantastic idea and if I was Moore Sports I'd be speaking to him about that as it wasn't pie in the sky.

BN-  haven't heard anything. 

LLR- What efforts are being made to expand to the West Coast, will 9s be used as a tool to help lay the ground work?

CD- No idea. There have been mooting's of development across various areas in the states but the distances involved make it all but impossible to play in the current USARL system without serious funding.  The USARL must develop outwards from it's current cities to grow further and there are beginnings of that happening as we speak.  I'm pretty sure we'll begin to see new clubs emerge over the next year or two.

BN- Chicago is an area where they are trying to build the game.  They have held a few local 9's games and it seems to be working and growing.  

LLR- how can fans keep up with the Mayhem and fallow along during the season

CD- Our website www.mayhemrl.com has all our major stories but we highly recommend you follow us on facebook at www.facebook.com/MayhemRL 

We keep our fans up to date regularly on social media and I actually think it's one area where we rival some semi professional clubs abroad.  People following on social media is absolutely massive to us when it comes to sponsorship and revenue so we'd ask that people follow us and like and share our posts.

BN- We will be live streaming our games this year, so that will help our fans outside of Tampa follow along.

LLR- Lastly this is a two parter, where would you like to see the state of the USARL and league in America in the coming years and also what should fans look for in the coming future from your club?

CD- It's difficult to gauge. A successful campaign in the world cup from a media point of view could be absolutely massive for the USARL.  Granting of the World Cup could do for Rugby League what it did for soccer it's simply a case of getting the sport out there to as many people as possible but it's so tough without funding. Simply put though if we could get even 0.5% of the US sports market the USA would be a competitor to the big nations and that must be the aim post the 2025 World Cup.

League is growing in the USA but it's a slow process. I do sometimes think people expect miracles when from small acorns do big trees grow. Ultimately the USARL has only been with us since 2010 and the Axemen currently have more followers than many established Rugby League clubs in the lower leagues. It just takes time and effort.

At the Mayhem 2017 is all about solidarity. 2016 was our first year of ownership and we've reflected on things we did right, things we did wrong and with the latter, what can we do to fix those things. We won't be pulling up any trees this year but I expect solid growth. We're half way through a three year plan and by the end of 2018 I expect us to rival the biggest clubs in the USARL and beyond that, I think we will eventually surpass semi pro clubs around the globe.

That's my plan anyway...

BN- I want to see the game and USARL continue to grow.  None of us are making a living doing this, we do it because we love the sport and want to get as many eyes as possible on it.  For our club specifically we want to build our local fans base more.  There really wasn't a blue print for us to follow, so it is a constant learning experience and we just try to improve things for our players and fans. 

*representatives with the USARL all star game shield after the South's victory over the north last year - Billy, Josh Heath, Andrew 'Zulu' Zuluaga, Justin Branca, Travis Miller, USA International Jon St John, Owner Dan 'Otter' Slagle and Chris Dickenson

______________________________________________________________________

I would like to thank the Mayhem for taking there time to answer these questions, and I do sincerely wish them the best not just this coming season but also moving forward in the ever growing history of rugby league in America.

I urge everyone to not just fallow the Mayhem but also the other USARL clubs and to find your local League club and support them as well. If there is not one near you then I suggest starting your own and since both union and league if anything barely have there seasons overlap, I suggest reaching out to union players. I think you'll find union players happy to play league in the "off-season" as do many in the USA, Canada and in Mexico currently do. 

*I would like to add that recently The Rugby Channel, which is just Union based streaming channel on Roku and other devices, sent out a questionnaire on what current subscribes would like to see added on to the channel. the choices where, Aussie Football, Gaelic Football and Rugby League. There was a forth choice but I could not remember, but I did vote for Rugby League first then the AFL. So those of you who want to see Rugby League broadcasted more in the States I would suggest two things. One keep an eye out for news in the coming months from The Rugby Channel on if they will add Rugby League and I would also highly suggest doing number two, flood there twitter account and facebook account with demand for rugby league to be shown on the channel. My guess is if they do decide to add league they wont add it till after the current super league and NRL season. But I would also like to see the Wolfpack reach out and see if they can get at lest there away games loaded on there.

*Lastly if there is anyone in the Pacific Northwest who has a league club or trying to start there own competition I urge them to please reach out to me, I would like to help in any  way possible and also do a Q&A with you as well.

2017 CRC

https://youtu.be/yKbdwPbZvS0

The World's Best Are Coming - Australia TVC

Building The Alaskan Rugby Mountain Grounds

Mexico vs USA South

Rugby World Cup Sevens at AT&T Park

Super Week

The annual 2016 RAN Superweek goes from July 9th-16th and features 23 matches, 14 teams and a variety of administrative and educational events to further develop rugby in the region. Both the Men’s U19 Championships and the inaugural Women’s 10-a-side tournament will be played and streamed live throughout the week. Click on LIVE to watch and search #RANSuperweek to follow the action.

Where: Miami, FL | Vizcaya Park

When: July 9th-16th

Open Opinion

In between the Q&A's I will be writing when I can just open opinion's on various subjects of rugby in America ( both codes).

My current set of issues I have is with both USA Rugby and the USARL, if you have been pay attention on the various bids for the RWC fallowing japan you will know Argentina is making massive move to host the 2027 WC, and speaking very publicly about there process and ambitions to have the games played in south America, which is great I have nothing to knock them down and I do hope the WC does eventually come to the Americas but what I am most upset about is the lack of word from USAR. I do believe the time to host the WC is now and if not in 2027 then the next closes time to even try and put up a bid is 2035. The reason I say 2035 is because I highly doubt World Rugby will want back to back World cups played in the Americas and the other unions willing to vote for such a move. so most likely is one of the other T1 nations will get the rights to 2031 which MAY give some breathing room to come back to America's. But we are talking 2035! that's over a decade from now that the USA MAY get a chance to host. which is why I believe now is the time to make the move, now is the time everyone involved with USAR needs to put together a ambitious plan and place a bid with World Rugby to get the rights to 2027.thats 10 years from now for USA Rugby to get all there ducks in a row and to also push for a massive education to the rest of the country about rugby. Get the collegiate game under control and cleaned up, get into place our own rugby league and to help establish the ether Pro12/Super Rugby franchise we have been hearing about forever now which will help prepare the men's national team to compete and to finally make it out of the group stage.

I hope to see/hear USA Rugby become much more vocal soon about there plans for a Rugby World Cup hosted soon, heck with the very intriguing plans that recently came out about a tri bid between US Soccer, Canada Soccer and FMF Mexico may USAR should look to see if teaming up with Canada will help the chances of both countries winning a chance to host the WC.

Now with USARL, just to put it very frank, there needs to be more activity from the league, there is only one email listed on the website to communicate with someone, but to who know one knows. There website is very rarely kept up to date and the teams them self's don't seem to do much communication with fans. I would love to see the CEO of USARL and the Commissioner of the USARL league have there contacts made available for anyone who wish to reach them. Since the announcement of the Rugby league World cup coming to North America there has been little to almost nothing coming out from the USARL on anything, from how they plan to work with the people putting together the World Cup or how they plan to spread the code of league to the youth. what would be a great first step would be to make games available to people to watch in and outside the country, maybe youth stream it? and if so promote it on your website and on message boards. what's sad or frustrating is there are fans, there are people who want to watch the USARL who want to see how the game is developing and the USARL is failing miserably to satisfy even the most dedicated fans. now I must say I am not trying to say USARL you fail time for someone else to move in but what I am saying is USARL you are failing and you need to fix this now.

Pacific Western Rugby Confrence

It has been sometime since LLR last Q&A and I do love doing these because it helps me as a fan and others to gain insight not just into there favorite teams or players but also what goes on behind the scenes and what the player or club opinions are on current events going on national and international.

As a fan of San Jose State it was only natural to contact the rugby conference they play in and get in touch with the commissioner of the Pacific Western Rugby Conference or PWRC. James Founda was a coach once for SJSU till he took the head job of the conference and is now leading all those involved down a bright future as the league continues to enjoy success with in their own conference and also against the rest of the nation, UC-Davis being a example. With so much emphasis given to DI-A and the Varsity cup, DI-AA tends to be over looked in my opinion and am glad to help shed a little more light on a portion of the level of rugby being played at DI-AA.

A man who wears many hats for the PWRC isn't just your ordinary commissioner who just holds the title and attends a few occasion meetings but instead he is also heavily involved with the growth of the conference and growing the collegiate game and helping to build bridges between everyone involved. I will leave the rest to further explain and give insight..

LLR- For those who may not know who you are, can you please share with us who the commissioner of PWRC is and your rugby back ground?

JF- My name is James Fonda and I am the commissioner of PWRC.  I have been involved in rugby for 28 years starting from years at Chico State to ending my playing career at Back Bay RFC in Newport Beach, CA.  I have coached, BBRFC, UCI Men's Rugby and San Jose State Men's Rugby.   As being the commissioner of PWRC currently, I also sit on the Collegiate Eligibility Committee for USA  Rugby and scout for the Collegiate All Americas.


LLR- The Conference last experienced growth in 2014 with the inclusion of Sacramento State and UC Davis, does the conference have plans to grow more or is 8 teams it for now?

JF- With the constant change of competition year after year, we are looking to expand that makes sense for all the teams.  There are numerous competition idea's floating around and we review it every year.  But, in the end our conference universities wants to compete for a national title year after year both in 15's and 7's.


LLR- When Sacramento and UC Davis joined what was the process, was there certain criteria that clubs must meet before coming in, who has a say in the process?

JF- Any change in competition, gets review by the board, which consists of 5 elected members, and than members are told to vote on it.  


LLR- UC- Davis are defending DI-AA champs and find them self’s in the Finals once again, how significant is this for the conference?

JF- It is massive!!!  Especially if UC Davis repeats again as a national champion, the only team that has beat UC Davis is another conference team Chico State.


LLR- For those who are not aware of the PWRC, what makes this rugby conference different from the others in the west and California?

JF- First off,  we have back to back USA Rugby Div 1AA National Champions.  Second, our top four teams can beat other top teams from other conferences and some Div1A teams.  Third, we were first conference both Div 1A or Div 1AA that has a representative side.  We are going into our third year and will be heading to the Aspen Tournament.  


LLR- How many conference games do you attend as commissioner, how involved are you with the 8 clubs and relationship with USA Rugby?

JF- Since we do have a representative side,  I attend a match a week during the season.  I get involved when teams are struggling or when they are bending the rules.  I try to help prepare teams get ready for a national title run.   Otherwise, the teams run their own programs.  
I work very closely with USA Rugby.  I am trying to build a healthy relationship with them while also building a successful national competition.   I also try to build relationships with other conference commissioners.  


LLR- Now to move on to some world rugby news, what do you make of the Super Rugby mess that has accord, do you agree with the axing down to 15 teams, how would you like to see it played out? 

JF- I think rugby has a major issue.  If you watch some of the super rugby matches, there are some clubs that can barely fill the stands.  The bottom line is that some clubs do not have a good product on the field and our barely being supported  or definitely losing money.  This in return,  puts pressure on the governing body to help fill in the deficit.  I think they are tired of doing this.

They need to consolidate.  They need to get the high standard of the product back on the field.  This brings back the fans and better TV viewing from around the world.

LLR- -there was a article out recently that there is still a shot for a super rugby team to be placed in Canada and USA come 2020, Patrick Johnston from The Province. Is having a team in super rugby and say the PRO12, USA Rugby future or should we just focus on developing our own “League” for Union? 

JF- Well it sounds like super rugby is definitely getting back to consolidation so I do not see this happening anytime soon.  I think a pro rugby league will happen in the US.  But, it's success will depend on how the competition is built.  It can be rushed, it really needs to be thought through.  Every time we try this, we fail and than it takes a few more years to get the fans back.  Remember, the key is the product on the field has to be excellent so people can say to themselves, "Wow, that was entertaining".       

LLR- Next year is the 7’s world cup played in the Bay Area, what are your predictions?

JF- It will be successful.  I also think the world should take notice if USA Rugby does well from operating the tournament than this can lead to the grand daddy of hosting the 15's world cup.  I also think the Pat Clifton does not know what he is talking about when is stating that the USA Rugby is built on a house of cards from his article on www.rugbytoday.com.   If I had to evaluate where we are in 7's it is that we are right on track to really give it a go in 2018.  I even like the depth of some real talent coming in as well.    

LLR- Last two questions, the Toronto wolf pack kicked off this year in the league 1 and plan on working their way up to the super League, if things go according to plan there is talks to start 2-3 US based Professional league clubs just like the Wolf Pack, with that talk and also again with Pro12 and Super Rugby eyeing US for potential teams, could League and Union work at the professional level in America?  

JF- Union by far, it is really grabbing on the roots level while league has no youth program what so ever.  Once again, it is the time to set up the competition properly and not rush it that will make the difference.

LLR- Lastly, if you could see one match up of any National side or Club team, what would that be?  

JF- Wow, a tough question, I think that a collegiate representative side tournament brought back could really be huge.  The college game is where it is at.  The structure is there as well.  I am hoping to see this in 2018.  

PWRC representative side.

________________________________________________________________________________

I would like to thank James for taking the time to respond and hope to do one of these again in the lead up to the 2018 season and what new developments we can expect from the Pacific Western Rugby Conference. if anyone has any question for me or James please feel free to use the contacts listed below, and I encourage everyone to not only fallow and support the PWRC but also there own local college programs, the more support and enthusiasm shown to these programs the more serious those university associated with them will begin to lend a helping hand in many shapes and ways.

*Stanford over the weekend won the PacWest 7s tournament and will be heading to the USA 7s nationals. 

PWRC: pacwestrugby.com/

PWRC Commissioner: James Fonda - jamesfonda@pacwestrugby.com

LLR: llrugby@yahoo.com

Seven stunning tries from Hong Kong Sevens 2017

Autism awareness month

This month is Autism awareness, if there is one bright moment I would like to see accomplished during my life time it would be to see the first autistic rugby player playing on ether national team (women's or men's , 7s and 15s).

That is my random thought/opinion for the day.

Recommendations

Attention to all, if you have a player or coach or even a local club team you would like to see written about here on LLR please feel free to send a recommendation to llrugby@yahoo.com, please also include person or club name and way of contact along with some information about subject.



side note, hope to have a new article out in the coming week, stay tuned.

#LIUB

Campeonato Nacional Femenil de Rugby Xs Final 2017

Thoughts on league

So let's back track a bit and make our way forward.

First off us Rugby League, for those who may have missed it and how could you. Both the USA and Canada have been awarded the 2025 WC. Now unlike Union this bid was not submitted or won by the governing bodies for League in ether country but by a business man who was able to gather other investors and convince the RLIF that N.America was ready for a WC. Now I am happy for one because I am one of those who love rugby that ether code is good for me. But you have to think this has to put World Rugby in a tough spot . If the League WC in USA ends up being successful and say Argentina is also awarded the 2023 WC  then that  means WR would be kicking them selfs for not going to USA instead and most likely have to wait 12 years (+) till they could attempt to head back, I say 12 years because heading back to the Americas 1 or 2 world cups later would be to soon and you have to think the keepers of the game ( south Africa, New Zealand , England and so on) would want to host first before going back. This is where maybe World Rugby should adopt the FIFA rotation method amongst the various governing bodies.

Regardless I do believe the WC will be successful and provide a good wake up call for Rugby in general in N.America. league is going to have to rely heavily on the union fans to show up and I do believe they will. Now what the USARL the current governing body for League in the USA needs to start doing and I believe needs to start NOW, they must heavily spread the code of league to the heavy populations of America and work there way inward. There is no word yet on what cities are on the short list to host games but it would be a benefit to both the USARL and the success of the WC to have not just a few places know what rugby league is but rather major populations cities. San Francisco , Los Angeles, Huston, Dallas , salt lake , Chicago , new York / New Jersey , Orlando and Jacksonville and even Portland , OR or Seattle would be the targeted cities and metro areas between now and the year prior before the World Cup USARL and RLIF should begin working Rugby into.

Aside from the WC news, I am pleased to see the Toronto Wolfpack take the lead in cross Atlantic journey into top flight rugby. Not only is this the first building block for Rugby League in the Americas going to Professionalism but also Rugby Union folks are watching closely. So far things have been going according to plan, my only wish is that they can find away to broadcast games to those of us in USA.

USARL being the governing body of rugby league in USA needs to be more proactive with the public. There website is rarely updated, off season and during. It would be great to let fans know what is all happening with in the league and player development. Has new coaches been hired for teams, what about player profiles, what teams are returning or dropping out and so on, and lastly they have got to get some merchandise out for people to buy!

LLR is BACK!

It's been a long time coming, sadly missed so much but I will be doing a overview of the past few months events, thoughts and opinions on past and future Rugby (union and league ) events happening in USA and around the Globe.

Hope to have a Q&A out in the coming weeks.

Thanks for all the support. Stay tuned