Rugby World Cup could reveal these 3 new recruiting pipelines
By John Scimeca
The Rugby World Cup is something that college football teams should pay attention to as it could lead to new recruiting pipelines.
Big news in early May from the rugby world hit home for many Americans, as the United States was announced as the host of the 2031 men’s Rugby World Cup and the 2033 women’s Rugby World Cup.
Rugby organizers in the United States have branded the announcement as the moment to welcome “a golden decade of rugby” in the country.
There’s a chance that the sport could develop and grow from the youth level on up as the Rugby World Cup increases exposure to the sport for many Americans who may be unfamiliar with a scrum, a fly-half, or scoring a try.
Now that the United States is set to host the 2031 men’s Rugby World Cup, could we see more international rugby players come to college football?
The opposite, of course, could work as world-class rugby players travel to the United States and see shoulder pads and helmets taking to the gridiron. It will become immediately apparent to college football coaches from around the United States that inviting a rugby player to try a similar sport like American football could pay big dividends.
More immediately, of course, is the 2023 Rugby World Cup, which is set to take place in France next year.
Rugby clearly mirrors American football in a way that few other sports do: there’s the pace of action running down the field, the form tackling, the grit, and the tossing of a oddly shaped ball — and in this case, that ball can only be a sideways or backwards lateral.
Though more opportunities are arising for international athletes to make an NFL roster through the International Pathway Program, U.S. college football coaches could access this talent pool by seeing these players at a younger age. The travel distance, time, and funding are certainly significant issues, but teams like Michigan still found time to have their trip to Italy, right?
There are many hotbeds of rugby around the world. Which of these rugby-obsessed locations could develop into a new college football recruiting pipeline within the next decade? Here are three countries college teams should look for talent.