Comments on: Aviva Premiership games to make Transatlantic move?

By: SY

SY — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 18:30:45 +0000

I’m actually an American. I don’t believe that a match between AP clubs will draw that much interest. If it was a match involving the All Blacks, that is a different story. Honestly, the only group of people who will be interested are the ones who watch rugby (ex-pats and US rugby players). It’s just not a high profile match. In terms of filling a stadium with “true fans,” I have a hard time believing that. We have trouble filling the capacity for USA games, and where they play holds a lot less people.

I definitely agree that rugby is getting more popular, and the youth participation is growing (I think it’s the fastest growing youth sport in the US), but it will never be more than a fringe sport because the focus is on football, basketball, or baseball. Plus, there is a real and widespread perception that rugby is dangerous (even though it much safer than football!). A lot of adults don’t want to play for that reason and parents are hesitant to let their children play. However, it’s not all doom and gloom with me because I really believe that 7s will become the default version of rugby due to the Olympics. I think Americans will enjoy it much more because it’s much easier to understand and there is a lot more scoring.

By: Jacob

Jacob — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 07:54:21 +0000

Sorry forgot to mention. Let’s be honest – this is about money, which the Premiership will make a lot of. And to be honest, I don’t have a massive issue with that. As long as it is one game a season, and it is worked out sensibly, then great.

By: Jacob

Jacob — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 07:49:44 +0000

I actually disagree. I watch a lot of NFL, and certainly more so after in being played at Wembley a few times. Whilst I don’t play, it has certainly raised interest in the sport and participation in the UK has risen considerably in the past few seasons that the NFL have played a game here.

Also, I have a few friends from the US, and Rugby over there is getting more popular. Whilst I’m not suggesting we play a game there and everyone takes it up, it is a good step to get sport in their face. The American way is that they want the best, they want hype – so advertised properly I am sure the stadium will fill with “Sports Fans”.

Don’t disagree on schools and clubs being the key to participation mind you, that is clearly necessary. But again, that is happening over there. A game over there would just be a little extra rugby to gain a bit more attention.

And on alienating fans, I’m not sure where I sit. Wasps played a game against Quins (believe it was LV cup mind you), in Dubai a few years ago, and that went relatively well. I don’t think there are any Wasps fans alienated off the back of that? Was it Sharks vs Crusaders at Twickenham a season or two ago? Great day out, and again, were Sharks and Crusaders fans abandoning ship or feeling alienated?

By: SY

SY — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 17:44:21 +0000

I agree. Everyone involved is going to look pretty silly when a NFL stadium that seats 80,000 people has only 1,000 (and that would be a real stretch too) for a match involving AP teams. The US has proper rugby pitches; why aren’t those an option? The match will be televised and available to anyone with a television, but how good is that when the general public has never seen rugby before and has no idea of what’s going on.

Yeah, building from the ground up is crucial. Just because the US has pro-level athletes available, that doesn’t they will be able to transition to rugby. American football isn’t exactly similar to rugby, I would argue that they are two very different sports. Plus, starting in your early twenties and not your early teens or younger is a huge disadvantage. If US rugby is serious about getting better, they would really push to get rugby in schools, or at least, encourage clubs to start youth programs. The latter is probably more feasible.

By: brighty

brighty — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 16:05:08 +0000

Seems ridiculous to me. Think of it the other way – would you suddenly get into American Football just because the superbowl champs were playing a game in your backyard? Sure, you might pop along and watch it but it’s not going to increase participation. And that’s with a team that us Brits have heard of.

So Saracens v Saints in Boston isn’t suddenly going to attract a load of curious yanks who’ve only not put their kids into rugby clubs or not signed up for rugby TV channels. It’ll get ex-pats, people already interested and a load of corporate nonsense. At the same time it’ll alienate actual Saracens/Saints fans who regularly go to watch their club.

The idea that a sport will be made popular in country X simply because the best team from country Y pops along always amuses me. There are no shortcuts – you need to grow it from the ground up – schools, schools, more schools and local clubs.

By: ExpatChief

ExpatChief — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 06:33:25 +0000

The EPL had a similar idea but how do you play regular season games abroad? Which team losses out on a home game? Do you add an extra game and if so who do you play? Lots of difficulties to figure out never mind the actual physical logistics :)

By: Liam

Liam — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 20:54:00 +0000

Anything that gets the game into areas where it needs exposure is a good thing,