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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.
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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.
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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.
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“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
Haha lads lads lads, that’s how you have a holiday In Majorca
2 Go to commentshit on Lynagh was defo late and card-worthy. The other 2 are bang on OK. Hurts you at Test level if youre timing is off and the nostrils are flared. Jerry C knew when to lean in on one, Finau just needs to keep his discipline and head straight.
5 Go to commentsSlade was exceptional against Gloucester. Not only was he doing the classic Slade stuff of running amazing lines and timing passes to perfection to put his wingers into space, he was kicking goals, flying off the line smashing people and crashing into rucks like a flanker… his hair even looked on point. 😍
1 Go to commentsThat’s really sad, hope everyone involved is ok. At least he had pants on.
2 Go to commentsTo be fair it was nowhere bear the Leinster first team (for which, btw, Leinster copped nothing like the outrage that Jake White did for sending a rotated team to the UK). But it’s fun to watch the Stormers doing their thing. They are attracting big, diverse crowds of young fans, and deservedly so. Great to see.
1 Go to commentsIt might be legal but he’s sailing pretty close to the wind. Not a lot needs to go wrong for Finau to end up in the bin. Was it late? Not quite, but borderline. High? A couple of CM within the laws, no room for error with that one. Did he wrap the arms? There was a token effort to wrap one arm, the intent was clearly to hit with the shoulder. So yeah, it’s legal, just. But as we all know, a very slight change in the dynamics could easily have him seeing red. Hopefully not when it really matters.
5 Go to commentsCan we also show some love for Tane Edmed’s fantastic draw and pass? Put his body on the line and committed the defender before letting go of that pass. Flawless skill.
5 Go to commentsYou forget this is Rassie Erasmus who is still holding the Springbok keys. Even with Felix Jones orchestrating a really tight RWC SF last year. It still wasn't enough to get England past their particular Springbok Monkey in world cups. The reason is FJ was going off of what they did in 2019 not necessarily adapting to current Springboks. So yes, Australia can get passed England because let's be honest, England have a one track strategy, Springboks do not. Even with rush defense I wouldn't be surprised if Rassie continually tweaks it. Also bear in mind Rassie is happy to sacrifice a few mid year and inter World Cup matches to pin point how opposition plays and how to again tweak strategies to get his Springboks in peak performance for the next World Cup. As much as most teams like to win games in front of them and try to win everything, Rassie always makes sure to learn and train for the greatest showdown International Rugby has to offer. Tbh, most people remember World Cup wins and ignore intermediate losses as a result but will remember also WC losses, Ireland, even if they won games in the interim. So even if games are won against the Springboks, it's likely Rassie is just getting a feel for how opposition is moving and adapt accordingly…in time. For Rassie, a loss is never a loss because he uses it as a chance to learn and improve. Sometimes during a game, again like the England match in last year's Semi Final.
7 Go to commentsDanny don't care. He pretends to care but he don't. He says all this stuff to justify his reasoning but no one can claim that legitimately. He knew exactly what he was doing and wondered if his old team mate would overlook it, which he did. Ref has got to be sidelined or properly trained. It's one thing for refs to move up the ranks but if it was me I would require refs to either have played in different clubs or not at all having the temptation to bias in high stakes games like this. This has got to be stamped out. But then again World Rugby is so destroying the game of rugby in an attempt to be more “safe” and “concussion free”. What they are doing is making it more infuriating for the fans and more difficult for the refs to officiate evenly and consistently. It's fast become Australian Rules football. If guys don't want concussions, they should have played chess. Stop complaining you oldies of the game. When they played the game was vastly heavier hitting than it is now but of course they can't see that.
2 Go to commentsJa, why do Bulls get flack for not bringing their best but Leinster never bring their best and it goes “unnoticed”?
4 Go to commentsIt’ll be very interesting to see how Razor’s AB’s handle the new England rush D. It’s basically the Bok recipe they copied, so if England goes well then we know most likely the Boks will go well too. If England cops a hiding then we’ll have to study and adapt.
7 Go to commentsTypical trait of an australian is to moan. Goes well with there lack of humbleness as evident by the Reds bench on the weekend.
5 Go to commentsSBW’s bro’town commentary and lazy default to hyperbole should be ignored, a technical analyst he is not. Sotutu is a good player when games get goosey loosey, high skill set that fans of Zinzan recall with starry eyes. But you need power and mongrel at no8 in the Test arena and Sotutu gets found wanting there, much like Akira Ioane. No8’s like Zinzan and Ardie have bucketloads of mongrel and power and tenacity which allow the skill sets to flourish.
12 Go to commentsAn inside pass to attacker on the angle can make a drift defence look lead footed. Relies on fleet footed forward/s to get across from the breakdown. An argument for the smaller faster 7 perhaps?
7 Go to commentsSensational tackle. The reds one was late and rightly penalised. The other two were simultaneous with the pass. If nitpicking TMOs can’t find fault there clearly isn’t any.
5 Go to commentsBrumbies fully deserved their win on the back of their physicality and desire to control the ball. Xavier Numia, Asafo Aumua and Tyrel Lomax should be the ABs starting front row when we start our test schedule. They have “come of age” and have bested all they have faced as well as been dominant with ball in hand in making the gainline. With De Groot, Tamaiti Williams and Fletcher Newell backed up by Taukei'aho and Cody Taylor there's not an international front row that can trouble us. Can't wait to face the Boks over there, won't be no one point game this time.
7 Go to commentsKinda strange that he wasn’t with a premiership team or a higher level of rugby? Start playing late or something? With that kind of size and athleticism you’d think someone would have picked him up?
2 Go to commentsShows how much attitude matters. Last week the Brumbies got done, this week they dominated the tournament leaders, who were likely thinking they could cruise to victory.
7 Go to commentsA Turtle has more pace and leg drive than Owen Franks, so it’s a good thing he only had to run 90 metres for that try.
2 Go to commentsOh Tamati Tua was in the vastly over-rated Leon MacDonalds Blues system? Well, no wonder he was wasted, much like Emoni Narawa and Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens under MacDonald. now look at them. Good thing Tua isn’t eligible, the Aussies latch on to any player who isn’t tied down.
7 Go to comments