'It's no secret that USA Rugby have been financially f***** for years'
A Major League Rugby board member has hailed the bankruptcy of USA Rugby as a positive step forward for the growth of the sport in America – and for the country’s 2031 World Cup bid.
The Chapter 11 bankruptcy declaration last Monday by the American union sent shockwaves around the rugby world about the precariousness of the business of rugby in challenging times worsened by the economic ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, James Kennedy, the majority owner of MLR club Rugby United New York, claimed the writing was on the wall for a very long time for the Colorado-based organisation.
“It should have happened at least a year ago, if not two years ago when Dan Payne was leaving,” said Kennedy to RugbyPass. Payne quit as USA Rugby’s CEO in April 2018 for a similar role at Rugby Americas, the governing body for 23 national unions in that area.
“They were always fighting a rearguard action. There is plenty of me on the record on this, so it’s not Monday Morning Quarterback. Bankruptcy is what they needed to do.
“It was no individual’s fault, as there was chopping and changing personnel. It was a system that was just built to fail in a weird way. It was chronically underfunded and because it was underfunded it wasn’t able to get the money it needed.
“If they got their membership policies right they would be the wealthiest union in the world, but they couldn’t even do that because they didn’t have the money or the resources.
“This needed to happen. I feel bad for vendors that are owed money, but to say the bankruptcy is because of Covid is a bit disingenuous.
“It’s no secret that US Rugby have been financially f***** for years. They overspent at the last World Cup (in Japan) and they messed up at the Sevens World Cup in San Francisco.
“They forget to factor in the cost of hotel rooms. Not just the price, they forgot to negotiate with the hotels before they were awarded the World Cup.
“They were awarded the World Cup and then went to the hotels. The hotels were, ‘Well you’re coming here anyway, we’re not giving you a deal’. Stuff like that year on year crippled it.
“Bankruptcy will just clean that up and it will make the (2031) World Cup bid process easier. I don’t want to say any names, but the void will be filled with competent people and competent organisation.”
This has been a long time coming for USA Rugby…https://t.co/stGXDLewwx
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 30, 2020
USA Rugby’s demise should also offer Major League Rugby – a completely separate entity – the perfect opportunity to accelerate the growth it has enjoyed since its inaugural season in 2018.
Kennedy has already been talking to local districts that had been operating under the wing of USA Rugby and the hope is they will now row in behind the MLR in the same way the NBA, basketball’s professional league, wields so much influence on that sport in America.
“The US is broken into a raft of unions. The New York union is New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, which is called Empire Geographical Union. I will be talking to them about absorbing them for a while, taking over their membership and how we set it up. DC are trying to do the same down with their union. San Diego the same.
“It’s a natural progression. If we rule our provinces we are fully motivated to expand the game, grow the game, gets fans at clubs, at colleges, at high schools, in our women’s programmes… it’s in all our financial interest to do that and then what I would see is a feeder model.
“Take USA Basketball (USAB): they have men’s and women’s teams in the Olympics and various World Cups etc, but it’s a five-person office in Colorado because the NBA and the NCAA does everything.
Coming to the French league in 2020/21 after a taste of the Big Apple https://t.co/6z4vCa7W34
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 1, 2020
“These (USAB) people just book a few flights every now and then because the grassroots is done by the NBA and the colleges. The country is too big for an organisation (similar to USA Rugby) to do something like that.
“It [USA Rugby’s bankruptcy] is a good thing. I say that with respect to people that have lost their jobs, people that are not getting paid, but it’s a good thing for rugby in the US ultimately.
“If it cleans up the World Cup bid which is going on right now… anything without US Rugby involved is a better situation than having them at the table where they swear they are good when everybody knows they are not good. This is a good opportunity.
“It will be a good chance for MLR to get out in the press and explain to the rugby public and the non-rugby public that US Rugby and MLR are separate entities and always have been for exactly this reason.
“We are the ones expanding the game. Like, we were launching a women’s professional team this year which we have now put off until next year. It’s all pretty good stuff basically.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
We 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 getitng 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.
7 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.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 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.
54 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.
7 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
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
54 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
54 Go to comments