World Rugby is trying to fix the one thing in rugby that isn't broken

15:09, 15 Sep 2026Updated 15:09, 15 Sep 2026

Last week, ahead of the fourth Test between South Africa and New Zealand in Baltimore, World Rugby made it known in less than subtle terms that, at some point in the future, they'd like to go one step further when it came to bringing the game stateside.

Not just the final Test of a series that boasted marketing thought up mere minutes ago, but the tournament christened, by itself admittedly, 'rugby's greatest championship'. This isn't Rugby's Greatest Rivalry (est. 2026) we're talking about.

And, if World Rugby has any sense, it will know better than to mess with it - no matter the reason.

Growing the game is the obvious one that the global governing body will point to. With two World Cups being hosted in the US in the next 10 years, World Rugby is obsessed with growing the game in what could be a massive market.

Understandably so, given the ticket prices at the recent football World Cup in the States.

And there are ways to tap into that, undoubtedly.

Taking regular matches, like the Springboks' final Test with the All Blacks, is one way. Ireland committing to playing regular Tests there, playing to the large Irish diaspora in the US, is another.

But ultimately, that only goes so far.

Eventually, you need rugby in the States to be successful and viable. Having spoken to some who have worked in Major League Rugby or near it previously, that's no easy feat.

One source once told about the financial problems that crop up from a week-to-week basis.

It's a big country and a big market, but you're competing with a handful of sports that only America really do. American football, basketball and baseball - sure, there's other nations that play them - but you claim the top prize in the NFL, NBA or MLB and you're 'world champions'.

Maybe that tells you all you need to know about the American market. Even football - the world's game - has struggled to be truly accepted in the US.

External sports will likely always come second to those great American pastimes. Of course, rugby obviously doesn't need to overtake those sports to turn a profit in the US, nor should it expect to.

And that is, after all, what this boils down to. Money.

According to World Rugby, South Africa and New Zealand stood to each make £5m more from playing in Baltimore last Saturday compared to what they would earn from a Test in South Africa.

World Rugby added that the Test would stand to bring in similar revenue to a Six Nations match. So great for the Boks and All Blacks.

But where's the financial incentive for the Six Nations teams? Go all that way just to make the same?

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All of the hassle, the backlash and the bad will over here, just for much the same in the books? It's a tough one to sell.

We've seen this in other sports. The Premier League's 39th game never got off the ground.

It's little surprise that no one has positioned themselves close to the idea. Both Ireland's and Italy's governing bodies were quick to distance themselves - given they were the example used by World Rugby.

Others, including the Welsh Rugby Union, didn't even feel the need to comment.

Right now, there seems to be little reward for dismantling the status quo in search of a market that doesn't appear that ripe for the picking.

Few things in rugby are without cracks in them. The Six Nations, miraculously, is one of the things that isn't really broken.