1
The World Champion Black Ferns will play for the first time at New Zealand’s favourite rugby ground in the United States – Chicago’s Soldier Field – as they join the Maori All Blacks, the USA Eagles, Italy and Ireland in a huge triple-match bonanza in November this year.
ADVERTISEMENT
USA Rugby and TLA Worldwide, (TLA), and host city partners Chicago Sports Commission (CSC) and Soldier Field, have today announced that world class international rugby will again return to Soldier Field in Chicago for the latest edition of The Rugby Weekend.
The iconic NFL stadium will host three captivating international rugby matches over the course of one day, featuring the USA Rugby Men’s and Women’s Eagles taking on the popular Maori All Blacks and the champion Black Ferns respectively. Six Nations Champions Ireland return to Chicago to take on their Six Nations rivals, Italy.
The match programme for Soldier Field on Saturday 3 November opens with the USA Women’s Eagles up against 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup Champions, the Black Ferns, followed by Ireland v Italy and culminating in a home-team advantage for the USA Men’s Eagles against the Maori All Blacks.
The USA Men’s Eagles last faced the Maori All Blacks during The Rugby Weekend 2016 in front of over 18,000 fans at Toyota Park. The squad has started 2018 in spectacular fashion going undefeated to win the Americas Rugby Championship (ARC) becoming the first nation in the tournament’s history to win the Grand Slam, and look to carry this momentum into The Rugby Weekend.
The USA Women’s Eagles will be seeking revenge against the Black Ferns, a team that defeated them in the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup, before the Black Ferns were eventually crowned World Cup winners.
The match will be an historic one for the Black Ferns who will run out on North American soil for the very first time, reinforcing the rapidly growing interest in women’s rugby worldwide.
ADVERTISEMENT
New Zealand Rugby Chief Rugby Officer Nigel Cass said: “This is going to be a very special weekend for rugby and for New Zealand. Our teams, sponsors and supporters have enjoyed wonderful experiences with previous fixtures featuring the All Blacks and Maori All Blacks in Chicago, so we are excited to be able to bring our Women’s Rugby World Cup champions, the Black Ferns, to be part of such a wonderful spectacle of rugby.
“These matches will be a fantastic way to kick off end of year campaigns for both teams.”
In a day that is set to be a celebration of USA Rugby and the sport’s increasing participation across the country, host city partners CSC and Soldier Field look forward to the landmark event.
“We are excited to welcome back premier rugby to the great city of Chicago this fall. Rugby has established a home at Soldier Field and Chicago due to the incredible success of the past three marquee matches. The Chicago Park District has a thriving rugby program and it’s marquee events like this that provide the support for our youth to participate in the numerous programs we offer throughout Chicagoland,” said General Superintendent and CEO of the Chicago Park District, Michael Kelly.
“Chicago is a world-class sports city, and rugby has become a staple on our major events calendar,” said Executive Director of the Chicago Sports Commission, Kara Bachman.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We’re thrilled to welcome back Ireland, the Maori All Blacks and USA Rugby, and proud to host Italy and the first women’s international test match at Soldier Field,” Kara Bachman added.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel expressed his excitement about the return of The Rugby Weekend to Chicago.
“Chicago is an unparalleled sports town with an unmatched track record of hosting international sporting events,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
“Fans from around the world will be inspired by Chicago’s cultural attractions, remarkable restaurants and love of rugby”, Mayor Rahm Emanuel added.
The last time Ireland came to Chicago, it was for The Rugby Weekend 2016, which produced one of the greatest rugby moments in history. Ireland claimed their first win over the All Blacks in 111 years in front of a crowd of over 62,000 fans at Soldier Field.
The Rugby Weekend 2018 will see Ireland return to the site of their historic victory, only this time they arrive as reigning 2018 Six Nations Champions after completing the Grand Slam reaching No.2 in World Rugby’s World Rankings. Their opponents are a highly skillful and physical Italian National Team, commonly known as the Azzurri, coached by the highly respected former Ireland international Conor O’Shea.
“USA Rugby is thrilled to help host and participate in yet another iconic international rugby event coming off the heels of the much-anticipated Rugby Sevens World Cup in San Francisco this July. The Rugby Weekend provides an incredible sports fan experience in one of the greatest venues and sports towns in the world. We are especially excited to open the November tripleheader with a historic showcase of some of the best women’s rugby in the world,” said former USA Rugby National Team Player and Rugby International Marketing CEO, Pam Kosanke.
In other news:
TICKETS
Tickets will go on-sale at 2:00pm (CST), Tuesday 15 May (7:00am Wednesday 16 May, NZT) in an exclusive pre-sale for Chicago Bears and Citibank members, for an exclusive period of four days and two days respectively. Additionally, all ticket purchasers of The Rugby Weekend 2016 will be given a two-day window commencing 2:00pm (CST), Friday 18 May, (7:00am Saturday 19 May NZT) to purchase tickets. All pre-sale tickets can be purchased by visiting www.therugbyweekend.com.
Tickets will go on-sale to the general public at 10:00am (CST), 21 Monday May at www.therugbyweekend.com.
The Rugby Weekend 2018 details:
Date: Saturday 3 November 2018
Location: Soldier Field, Chicago
Match times:
12:00pm: USA Eagles (W) v Black Ferns
3:00pm: Ireland v Italy
5:15pm: USA Eagles (M) v Maori All Blacks
Comments on RugbyPass
I think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
8 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
61 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to comments