Reports of a new rugby platform to be developed on the US West Coast have emerged today, with a press release detailing the formation of the Pacific Rugby Premiership (PRP).
The PRP will take established teams from the West Coast and pit them in a 43 match season beginning February 1 2014. ‘This Is American Rugby’s’ website details the teams as Belmont Shore, Denver Barbarians, Glendale Raptors, Olympic Club, OMBAC, San Francisco Golden Gate and Santa Monica, showcasing the best of the teams from California and Colorado.
There are some key differences within the new premiership competition. While the premiership will utilise referees from USA Rugby, and will operate under USA Rugby eligibility rules, the competition itself will operate separately from the US Rugby Organisation. This will not immediately impact on the current Elite Cup competition. The five other major US Teams – Boston, Life, NYAC, Old Blue, and Seattle-OPSB – which currently form the top tier US Rugby competition, will continue to compete in their top division one competiton. There may in the long term though be an possibility of a rethink as to how US Rugby is structured. Thinking back to the early days of the NFL, we could potentially see the development of an Atlantic Rugby Premiership as well (speculation on my part, but we dare to dream).
Teams will be responsible for their own recruiting, which potentially means room for development for many clubs that are already active in the 7’s circuit (such as San Francisco Golden Gate). There does still appear to be some contention around players being ‘borrowed’ from USA Rugby, to bolster team rosters, however both sides of the respective competitions have indicated a willingness to work with one another.
I firmly believe this sort of organised competition is exactly the step US Rugby needs to take in its quest to develop into a viable and potentially professional sport. Rugby is steadily growing in stature in the US, and talks of professional leagues have been mooted for some time. The development of a league such as this can only further strengthen the fan base of US Rugby, and I believe help to bring more fans into the egg chasing fold.
Details are still emerging about this new competition, with reports the actual name of the premiership is itself still to be decided. The ‘West Coast Cup’ has been floated as a possibility, although a naming rights sponsor may change this. One thing seems fairly certain, the game is definitely on. The exact formats and so forth may change, but the group behind the Pacific Rugby Premiership has firmly established five and ten year plans. Long term viability appears to be the words of the day, and while some details are still to be ironed out, it appears safe to say 2014 is going to be a major new beginning for US Rugby. One which I’ll be following with a great deal of excitement and curiosity.
I’ll bring you more details of this new competition as they emerge, watch this space!
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