'Outstanding leader' to drive Rugby World Cup 2031 in the United States

Leading U.S sports executive and former professional tennis player Megan Rose has been appointed Managing Director of the Men’s Rugby World Cup 2031.

The appointment is another major step towards what World Rugby promises will be the sport’s biggest and most ambitious Rugby World Cup to date. It is also an investment in the former United States Tennis Association (USTA) executive’s capacity to deliver industry-leading events, build commercial impact, and connect with U.S. stakeholders. Her remit is to lead delivery planning for the much-anticipated 2031 Rugby World Cup, the first on American soil.

“Megan is an outstanding leader with a proven track record of delivering world-class sporting events and driving innovation,” said World Rugby Chief Executive Alan Gilpin.

“She joins us at a pivotal moment as our U.S. project enters its next phase – an appointment that reflects the scale of our ambition. Her experience, vision, and deep understanding of the U.S. sports landscape make her ideally placed to deliver a defining chapter for rugby in the United States and around the world.”

At the USTA, Rose organized global events including the Davis Cup, the U.S. Open Series, and the Billie Jean King Cup. She also served as Team Leader for Team USA Olympic tennis at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. Now she is tasked with ensuring that rugby’s biggest event successfully captures the attention of the most profitable sports market in the world.

The Men’s Rugby World Cup generates roughly 85 to 90 percent of World Rugby’s total income and is the financial engine that fuels the sport from development programmes to elite competitions across the world.

According to World Rugby, the 2031 tournament and the 2033 women’s edition “are central to World Rugby’s strategic ambition to grow participation, audiences and commercial revenues by unlocking rugby’s full potential in sport’s biggest global market.”

Rose will need to maximize every dollar spent in the most lucrative sports market, while helping World Rugby achieve its 2031 target of over a billion dollars in revenue.

“Rugby World Cup is one of the iconic events in global sport, defined by unforgettable moments on the pitch and the passion of the fans around the world,” Rose said. “To be entrusted with bringing Men’s Rugby World Cup to the United States for the first time is an extraordinary honour, and I’m thrilled to join this team.”

The former tennis star is in the early stages of her rugby education and is desperate to fast-track her knowledge of the sport as she prepares to take on her role. She says she even plans to check out her local rugby club in Orlando and even “hop into a practice.” Yet it is her experience delivering major events and in startup environments that she believes will help her excel as Managing Director.

Rose will hit the ground running. She joins with the applicant phase for Rugby World Cup host cities well advanced. Twenty-five cities are currently vying to host Rugby World Cup matches in 2031, with many hoping to play host two years later for the Women’s World Cup. Alongside Ross Young, World Rugby’s General Manager for U.S. Operations, Rose will play a direct role in selecting which applicant cities become hosts. That announcement will be made in early 2027.

Never one to shy away from a challenge, Rose is optimistic about the task at hand. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” she told RugbyPass. “I love the idea of bringing people together around a shared ambition, and I am looking forward to the opportunity to work with people to grow rugby [in the U.S.]. I am super excited to jump right in”

She hopes to hit the phones as soon as possible and begin introducing herself to the host city committees, USA and Major League Rugby executives, and other organising groups. She explained that what was most important to her was making sure all stakeholders know this will be a collaborative process. Only with their feedback can she help to deliver an event that engages fans, satisfies partners, and makes players feel the sense of occasion.

In the short term, Rose plans to lean on the expertise of Chris Stanley, her Australian counterpart, who is currently in the midst of preparing for the Men’s Rugby World Cup in Australia in 2027. She also plans to draw on the positives from FIFA’s recent World Cup in the U.S.

With the help of host cities, local organisers, and the wider World Rugby staff, Rose will be seeking to deliver an authentic tournament that incorporates all of the best elements of U.S. sports, like tailgates, fireworks, music, entertainment, and premium VIP experiences. “I want 2031 to be unmistakably rugby and an unmistakable U.S. sporting event,” she said.

“I think tennis is very similar to rugby,” Rose told RugbyPass. “It’s a traditional sport that fans expect to be run in a certain way, but it needs to be continually modernised for growth.”

She expects the biggest challenge to be the scope of the job. The Rugby World Cup has never been hosted across such an extensive geography with so many other competitions going on at the same time. Rose will have to navigate the NFL and NCAA College Football seasons, while using those stadiums for games and training.

A successful delivery of the 2031 Rugby World Cup will mean increasing accessibility to rugby, generating investment in the sport that remains beyond the World Cup, and making people into lifelong fans.

Off the back of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series final test in Baltimore, which drew a record-breaking crowd of 68,000 fans, there is a sense that the United States is primed for an explosion of interest in rugby. “We have millions of potential fans that we want to turn from curious onlookers into fans with sustained interest in rugby,” Rose stated.