Is America a sleeping giant in terms of rugby??

Question

If the Americans took the game seriously,with their vast resources in money and man power how how would they go against the current rugby nations?

Answer 1

I certainly hope so. I f they give just a little, as they did with soccer then they would be able to make an impact.

Answer 2

I hope so. I am in High School and am starting this year. Honestly, all the good sports aren't popular in the USA (rugby, handball, cycling, etc.). But if theres one thing I have seen, its that if the USA gets behind a particular sport, they are poised to dominate it purely because of sheer size which increases the likelihood of talented players and because of the capitalist culture.

Answer 3

America can be good at rugby if there is more financial support for teams. There is a new rugby stadium built here in a suburb of Denver, Colorado USA only 3 or 4 months ago. The Eagles maybe a tier one team soon but not for another 10 or more years. I am recently enjoy watching rugby over American Football. Especially the NFL players are too overpaid and do nothing. Rugby players most of the time need to work on stamina to score points.

Answer 4

everyone seems to forget that long ago, when rugby was in the olympics, the USA won the last 2 gold medals against France!  sure, since then, the focsu of our nation has shifted to the more flashy, more money driven sports...which in my belief were designed for the sake of advertisements... have you seen how many commercials are in ameri football game braodcasts?  

But YES !!! we are an groggy, slightly awake giant!  look how well the eagles played this year at RWC!!  they played better against SA than England did!  They kept other teams from getting bonus points... and there were some great american tries!!!  The USA 7's team has also done well.  

Every year more and more developement of youth programs is occuring in highschools and youth clubs.  these are huge areas of improvement since i started playing 15 years ago.  rugby has traditionally been a club only sport and now there are 4 USA universities that are offering rugby at the NCAA varsity sport level in womens rugby.  this is a huge advancement that has met great controversy... it means colleges can give scholarships and opportunities for recruitment and it means more progress, but it also means that USA rugby has more control over these teams- and thats not always a welcome thought.

if we put a fraction of energy towards rugby that we do towards americ football, yes i believe we can be very competetive by RWC 2015!  and we'll do some damage in 2011 in NZ... maybe win a game!

Answer 5

America is definitely NOT a sleeping giant, not in the near future anyway. If you look at the countries that play world class rugby like: Australia, New Zealand, England, France, South Africa, they have been playing rugby for centuries. How long have the US had an international rugby team?

Where did the Eagles star player grow up?

Answers:

Not bloody long.

And Australia.

First and foremost...a lot of money needs to be put in to rugby in the States to get it the publicity it needs to become a large following.

Secondly, rugby is a sport unlike any other rugby oriented sport played in America, it is a sport of skill. NFL is just a bunch of blokes running into each other grunting a lot and throwing a ball. An NFL front rower would be crushed in a scrum, a quarter-back would never be able to land a drop goal from 40m out.

And America would have to make sure that the rugby following was larger than NFL because players will be more attracted to play the more popular game. For example: In Australia rugby league is easily the more popular sport over union, thats why we trounce New Zealand all the time. However, in New Zealand union dominates the sport interest frontier and thats why the All Blacks are such a world-class team. Dependent upon the popularity of the sport will depend upon where football players prefer to develop their skills. Personally, of all the rugby oriented sports I think union requires the most skill, and is, by far, the fastest and most exciting. It's also a diverse game, where players are judged on their skills and merits, not size and strength.

[EDIT- Mike, sheer size has nothing to do with it...I am a proud Australian yet despite having over 5 times the population of New Zealand (New Zealands population is roughly 4 million) we never happen to keep the Bledisloe for too long. Also New Zealand is the best performing rugby team in the world.

Answer 6

Yes the United States is a sleeping giant ready to be awaken at any time. The Americans have a lot talent in American football players as well as in footballers. I think that someday the Eagles will be able to compete against the likes of Australia, South Africa, England, France, Argentina, and all other first tier teams. Be patient. In a couple of years expect the Eagles to be among the top teams in rugby union. I agree 100% with BDIDDY13 that someday rugby will be more popular than American football as American football is for pansies as they have to wear padding and helmets. Rugby is a real mans sport as you do not wear no padding at all. Just watch Americans. I want to understand rugby more and the only way for that to happen is for the college students who play rugby get out and tell other people what a great sport rugby is.

Answer 7

IF WE AS A COUNTRY TOTALLY CARED ABOUT IT ( AND FOR THE MOST PART WE DON'T ) ,WE COULD BE UP TO WORLD CLASS IN 3 - 5 YEARS . IT IS NOT TAKEN THAT SERIOUSLY HERE SO THE BEST ATHLETES WE HAVE GO WHERE THE REAL MONEY IS . ( PRO FOOTBALL , BASKET BALL , BASE BALL WRESTLING  ) AS IT PICKS UP INTEREST THEN WE WILL PROGRESS AT THE SAME RATE , SOMETHING I DON'T FORSEE IN THE NEXT 10 - 15 YEARS .

Answer 8

Well we are good at football and we suck at soccer, so we would do average.

Answer 9

well, i presume but it isn't going to happen.

Answer 10

Yes it is.  Rugby is becoming a VERY popular college sport.  i started playing in college (and i have been for the past 4 years) and the more places i go now have teams expecially highschools.  will it get bigger than the MLB or NFL more than likely not but the US is a sleeping giant ready to wake up.

Answer 11

I do not think they would fare very well ,as other countries have a tradition and sucession of rugby in the cultural mindset..like Ireland,Scotland, France,New Zealand...etc...

I think that it is an essential part of these cultures sporting traditions. It takes more than money and finances to be rugby champions...look at how Beckham has failed to impact his American soccer club in the International Arena.

Answer 12

does that mean america sucks in rugby ?