Experienced roster returns for final Pacific Nations Cup match against Japan

“Given that this is our first go-around in the tournament with a challenging travel schedule this summer, we will now be able to approach the next one far better prepared and with a greater amount of experienced young players.”

USA Rugby is now WORKFORIT Rugby

TOKYO, Japan – USA Rugby Men’s Eagles Head Coach Mike Tolkin will hope a few days’ extra rest will give his side a boost in Tokyo Sunday, when the Eagles face Japan in the IRB Pacific Nations Cup.

A disappointing campaign so far in the Eagles’ first year in the competition has not changed Tolkin’s strategy of going for the win, despite being at the bottom of the table with three losses. Japan, coming off of an historic win against Wales last weekend, defeated table-topper Canada Wednesday to earn its first win of the competition.

“They are hitting their peak this summer,” Tolkin said of Sunday’s opposition. “We expect a clinical team who is fit and who play with pace and tenacity. There is not much room for error versus Japan.”

The Eagles last played Wednesday in Nagoya, losing to Fiji 10-35. Louis Stanfill filled in at captain for the rested Todd Cleverand earned his 11th consecutive start, dating back to the Eagles’ 10-27 loss to Italy at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Stanfill starts again Sunday at lock beside the returning Brian Doyle, who came on in the 33rd minute of the Fiji match.

“The cornerstone of Louis [Stanfill's] game is heart and brawn and he has brought that into every game,” Tolkin said. “His individual stats remain steady and he really leads by his attitude towards each game and his pride in the jersey. He did a super job in filling in as captain.”

Clever will captain the Eagles Sunday and will be rejoined in the starting lineup by Chris Wyles, Andrew Suniula, Mike Petri,Shawn Pittman and Chris Biller, who were each rested for portions of Wednesday’s match. Scott LaValla, not on the roster for the midweek loss, returns at blindside flanker.

Adam Siddall gets his second consecutive start at center and Luke Hume will partner James Paterson on the wings.

Suniula helped a younger Eagles squad score the first try of 2013 Wednesday, but it was still not enough to earn the first win. Tolkin knows the step up in competition with the new-look IRB Pacific Nations Cupwill only help the Eagles going forward, for both the experienced and younger players.

“We are not where we aimed to be at this point in the competition, but the step up is exactly what we needed,” he said. “Given that this is our first go-around in the tournament with a challenging travel schedule this summer, we will now be able to approach the next one far better prepared and with a greater amount of experienced young players.”

Watch the Eagles from Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium Sunday at 1:10 A.M. ET on the IRB Pacific Nations Cup website and on Universal Sports Network. Follow live updates on Twitter @USARugby.

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US professional rugby union project delayed to 2014

Organisers insist project that would have brought London Irish to Gillette Stadium is postponed, rather than abandoned

A plan to start a professional rugby league in the US has been postponed. Photograph: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Plans to hold a high-profile summer fixture as the curtain-raiser to a US professional rugby union league have collapsed.

As the Guardian reported on Monday, the former dual-code international Henry Paul had been engaged to coach a US Barbarians-style XVcomprised of former college American football players and foreign veterans. A showcase match against the Aviva Premiership side London Irish, on 10 August at Gillette Stadium near Boston, was envisaged as the prelude to a six-team East Coast league, starting as early as 2014.

However, the organiser, a Minnesota-based company called RugbyLaw, said it had decided late on Tuesday that there was insufficient time to market and host the game properly. The company said that it had the financing and agreements in place to stage the one-off match but concluded that it was unlikely to generate a large crowd, enough media attention or the sense of occasion needed to persuade investors to sink money into an expensive full-time league.

The organisers had hoped for a 30,000 crowd but the lack of time to sell tickets and the absence of a detailed marketing strategy to attract fans and sponsors made that goal unrealistic. The on-field idea – that physically-skilled athletes unwanted by American football could become credible rugby players in the space of a summer – was itself hugely ambitious, though intriguing.

Michael Clements, of RugbyLaw, insisted that the "Independence Cup" fixture was not canceled but merely postponed until 2014, when his organisation would try again.

He told the Guardian: "We're not ready. We want to grab all the revenue sources we can. Maybe we were too ambitious."

RugbyLaw's thesis is that a US professional rugby union league will only work if the standard of play is very high from the start, rather than set up to develop slowly in a similar way to Major League Soccer. In a statement, the organisation said: "RugbyLaw believes it is crucial that the first elite professional rugby union XV game in the United States must be of the same quality that is expected on the pitch in Toulouse, Stade de France or Twickenham: history must be made.

"If a new professional sport is to be successful in the United States, there is no appetite for a developmental or semi-pro approach, and those contributing the capital to such an effort must be satisfied that reasonable returns will be realized. The abbreviated time frame we have to 10 August is not sufficient to assemble all the moving parts."

Rugby authorities in the US and England had been tracking the scheme closely. This is far from the first attempt to start a high-profile professional rugby union tournament in North America, amid growing interest in the sport. The USA Eagles face Ireland in a friendly at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston on Saturday. An attendance in excess of 20,000 is expected, which would break last year's US rugby record, of 17,241, for a match against Italy at the same venue. Sevens is also gaining traction ahead of its inclusion in the 2016 Olympic Games.

Brett Gosper, the head of the International Rugby Board, told reporters last April that he had been in discussions with USA Rugby, the US governing body, about the feasibility of launching a professional league in order to drive popularity, with a view to North America one day hosting the World Cup.

However, as numerous sports – including cricket – have discovered, the US is a potentially bountiful market that is notoriously difficult to crack.

Rugby Sevens - American Rugby

Rugby Sevens

Venue	To be confirmed.
History	Rugby sevens is derived from rugby union and originated in Melrose, Scotland, in 1883. A local club wanted to organize a sports tournament to raise funds but found that 20-a-side teams were unworkable, and reduced the number of players on each team to seven and shortened the match to 15 minutes. The tournament was a hit and the starting point for rugby sevens.
How it Works	Rugby sevens teams are made up of seven players instead of 15 as in rugby union. Its shorter matches consist of two seven-minute halves. This full-contact game is played on a standard rugby union playing field measuring 100 metres by 70 metres (109.4 yards x 76.6 yards).  Players run with while holding the ball, and cannot pass the ball forward—it can only be passed laterally or backwards. Teams score points by either kicking the ball through the goal posts or touching the ball down in the other team’s goal area.
Terminology	Maul—When a ball carrier is held up by an opposing player and a player from his own team. Ruck—Formed when two opposing players meet over a ball that is on the ground. Scrum—A scrum is a way of re-starting the game. It is formed when forwards from both teams bind together and push against each other as they try to compete for the ball.
Federations	International Rugby Board (IRB) Rugby Canada Ontario Rugby Union