So Can Rugby Break the USA? | Squidge Rugby

Now a nation set on shoulderpads, it's amazing to think once upon a time, rugby stood on the brink of becoming a major US sport. So how did rugby get lost in amongst the baskets and the bases, and where does their current growth leave their national team with just months until the 2019 World Cup?
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And finally, even though I forgot to mention it in the video, Malawi are trying to get a national 7s team off the ground for the first time ever, and need help to get them to the African Rugby Championship. You can give them a hand at www.backabuddy.co.za/malawi-7....

[@kelleyrawlings614]

As an American rugby fan was very happy to hear your take. I got into the sport because my son started playing it and absolutely fell in love with it. Thanks! Love your channel.

[@kelleyrawlings614]

@Ons Huis sure! Why not? It could only provoke more interest in the sport in the States.

[@krousaj]

Will you support MLR?

[@kelleyrawlings614]

@@krousaj of course!

[@jjryan9480]

So if rugby allowed professionalism from the start it could of been the biggest sport in the world

[@jjryan9480]

Second thought; would that of been good or bad thing?

[@dara-bk5rh]

Have not of

[@TheMintedAero1993]

Well League did and it isn't

[@joenelson4235]

@@TheMintedAero1993 It is in Australia. Plus the code wouldn't have split in the first place if you posh fuckers hadn't banned people being paid..

[@TheMintedAero1993]

@@joenelson4235 Australia is not the world. Is League bigger than AFL and Cricket there? If this posh fucker had been alive back in the day I would have been campaigning for proffessionalism. Cba having a job as well as rugby. I played AFL for Scotland as an amateur then went in to work the next all stiff and unable to bend my legs and none of the customers knew or cared about my achievement

[@pkeros]

MLR is looking to take the approach of Major League Soccer - a mid-tier sport in the US that capitalizes on its niche market to maintain a solidly profitable league. I doubt it'll grow as big as the NFL or the NBA, but there's definitely enough of a fanbase to maintain 10 or so teams.

[@Tom-eq7eh]

If it gets the popularity of MLS or NHL in the US then they will be a force to rekon with on the international stage.

[@samwroblewski748]

@@Tom-eq7eh it will need to get to a level where players will choose international glory over middle tier contracts in the NFL. If rugby can attract players who would normally be undrafted free agents, or better yet, 6th to 7th round talent, then we're cooking

[@usarugbyleagueunionfan]

Peter Keros There are so many similarities between Rugby and American football. The term ‘touchdown’ , 3-4 defense mirroring a scrum, you can lateral pass the ball back anytime, field goals and you can even google Doug Flutie doing a drop kick for the Patriots. There’s forward passing with a line out. The only difference is there’s no blocking in Rugby. I followed the NFL since the 1970’s. I can’t watch it anymore. There’s most definitely an appetite for Rugby here.

[@dwigzo15]

Well, I'm pretty sure the people who started playing basketball or American football in the US, would have never imagined it would be as big.

[@MasterMind-ew5cs]

People are finally waking up and seeing what is clearly the better of two sports. The problem in America isn't the lack of interest. You can't just create a team and join a league like here in the UK. It's all about money and buying your way in to the league. It's nice it's making a come back but if they go the MLS route it's wouldn't be fair and the sport won't grow.

[@flyhalfjack]

I’m flying to a camp tomorrow with the top 200 or so high school players in America. American Rugby is definitely on the come up. We have a huge number of dedicated players (way more than just that camp) that are playing for top tier high school and collegiate programs that can make the jump to professional rugby. My local club is recruiting at least 5 players every year that have never played rugby before. It may not seem like much but our state (NC) has produced numerous professional players and has multiple high school clubs that compete at a high intensity.

[@anthonybarnes3283]

Jack Williams I’m guessing that is EIRA winter camp, I didn’t have the money to go but good luck!

[@samwroblewski748]

I'm surprised how many youth programs there are in NC. Even a smaller city such as Greensboro has some high school and youth league. When I was growing up in the New England, there was nothing

[@aaronkeane2336]

@@andrewheggarty332 League sucks balls, everyone knows that!

[@Trag1cVision]

@@andrewheggarty332 Yeah but there is exactly four nations in the world where league is more popular than union. Australia, Serbia, Lebanon and the other is Papua New Guinea. Club or provincial rugby in union is booming around the world. We can only really count two countries that have professional leagues (with invitees) in league. There's a reason the Rugby World Cup doesn't need its 'union' qualifier in the name. And it has nothing to do with speed. Nor strength. Nor....everything.

[@Trag1cVision]

@@andrewheggarty332 I'm English, Northern (and that's important) and a League fan also - trust me Union is blowing League out of the water at the moment over here and has no foothold in Scotland whatsoever. Opinions and biases don't really matter in any way when it comes to what fills the coffers. League, like AFL and Gaelic Football just doesn't have international appeal. I welcome your opinion but I can as easily say MLB is harder hitting, more intense and faster paced than cricket and it still doesn't mean shit to an Indian. Verbs mean nothing if you can't convince someone by using negative language to describe a similar sport. That won't win over anyone.

[@MrGrenadeMcBoom]

The MLR championship trophy is hilariously American to me. It's just an 80 pound steel version of the logo. Love it.

[@erickofspirit]

I can’t help but look at the MLR Championship shield and roll my eyes. Maybe I’m being more optimistic. I believe that as the MLR progresses, they’ll have a much better trophy to give to the winners.

[@owzaaaaaaaaaaaat]

Never clicked on a notification faster

[@clundgeweep]

Never heard someone with a speech impediment speak faster.

[@MichaelEdlin542]

"a piston powered cow" possibly the strangest compliment I've ever heard haha

[@gezzarandom]

Piston powered rhino would've been better lol.

[@juancombrinck6472]

should have mention there 7s team this season 2 finals in a row. well coached have experience, pace and power very balanced and the 7s can make rugby in general more popular

[@lmarislmarislmaris4271]

I think too that 7's allows for an easier transition from players starting in American football to the tackle skills and game philosophy than 15s.

[@Trajan2401]

Juan Combrinck,not really because 15s always has been and always will be bigger and more popular than 7s.Most countries don't take 7s as seriously as 15s,in fact NZs 7s team is basically made up of 15s rejects yet they still won the world cup.If NZ took 7s as serious as 15s,they would dominate.

[@fatcraze216]

@@Trajan2401 7s rugby is the gateway not 15s here in the states is easier to pickup on and faster paced its not about the national level here; even though our 7s team is doing great this year the aim is more of the grassroots building from the bottom up.

[@Trajan2401]

@@fatcraze216 ,the US have their priorities around the wrong way and should be putting more emphasis on the 15s game which is the real game,bigger and more popular than 7s.I think the US and Fiji take 7s more serious than anyone else so should win the world cup or Olympic 7s sooner than later.

[@LiberRaider]

So true

[@johnpannebaker5757]

I'm so glad I found this. Looking at the RWC Pool, I thought we'd get crushed. Now, I have hope that even though we'll still probably get whooped, we'll make a good showing. Thank you for that!

[@aotnz4055]

USA is a lot better than they're given credit for. .it's unfortunate that they were drawn in the Pool of Death though, had they drawn pools A or D their prospects of making top 8 would have been very possible. I'm not saying it's not possible now. However should they make it through, that'll be an upset bigger than 2015's Japan victory over South Africa.

[@johnpannebaker5757]

@@aotnz4055 We're getting better, just a shame that we are in the Pool of Death. And yes, us advancing would be a bigger deal than Japan over South Africa. That would move Rugby into some prime time conversation here.

[@jakepowell7860]

My grandad won a gold medal for USA in 1924 for rugby was crazy

[@mdavidom5903]

I'm coming back to this video to educate a friend on USA rugby history. Finding this comment is so awesome. That's really f***n cool bro

[@gaius_enceladus]

Rugby can **definitely** become established in the US! Ok, it won't replace the mega-big sports there (American football, ice hockey, baseball, basketball) but it can definitely create its own niche (and that niche could get quite big!). The US women's rugby sevens team (for example) just beat our team (New Zealand) in a tournament final in France! Rugby sevens (as opposed to fifteen-a-side rugby) is likely to be the first form of rugby to make an impact in the US. **Much** faster than American football!

[@JeanDoMax]

As a Frenchman, I really appreciate the amount of banter you've put in this vid. Well played.

[@buckypascale7229]

Thank you squidge. As an American college rugby player and world rugby fan, this is something I have been wanting to see. USA rugby has a long way to go but with interest in the sport from outside one could see the sport explode here.

[@dakers2052]

Just a small note to update in 2019.....my Seattle Seawolves defended their title, scoring in the final seconds on a rolling maul to complete the comeback over the San Diego Legion, 26-23. Seattle has now sold out 12 consecutive home games (4 in the first season when only 8 games were played, and all 8 this season in a 16 game season). Attendance at the championship game doubled, and the introduction of 3 new teams should help increase the popularity of the game in 2020. Combine that with the success of the USA 7's program (both men and women finished second in the HSBC world 7's league this year), and yes, rugby will survive, and thrive, in the sports mad USA. Granted, rugby will never pass up the top 5 sports in the USA, but enough interested has developed to ensure its survivability.

[@RawRugby]

I didn't know Christmas was today?

[@mcyuchxbnxhxyx5204]

Raw Rugby shite patter

[@karlosdeevs]

auch! i just wanted snowflakes to land on

[@TheCJD89]

It's the second day of Christmas

[@Jamac007]

I did, other than my birthday its the only times I get laid!

[@karlosdeevs]

Jamac007 (; mama's boy

[@jamesknight1587]

I don’t know about other states, but the Bay Area has a pretty great rugby culture at the high school level. A lot of the coaches played for the USA team or college squads. And from what I’ve seen so far many of those players go on to play in college. If you asked me if I could see rugby taking over the us, I would say in 50 years it may be a pretty major sport, maybe not as popular as the nba or mlb but probably on the level of lacrosse. Just very loyal pockets that play and watch for the spirit of the game, that can spread around the country.

[@robtrimber9756]

I live in and play college rugby in America and I greatly appreciated this video

[@PH33RPIKEY]

Great video! I would love to see Rugby become a major sport in the USA, I'm astounded that they are currently 12th in the world!

[@sodaking6858]

Same considering they got their ass handed to them by Ireland's B team

[@Tom-eq7eh]

@@sodaking6858 'Ireland's B team' could probably beat half of the tier 1 nations though tbh.

[@DJPITBULL90210]

I love this quick video. Think it sums things up for us a bit and shows that there is solid work being done!

[@colmivers]

Taufet'e is a terrifying tank of a man, in the ireland game he was a one man army and his try the equivalent of trying to tackle the giant ball rolling after Indiana Jones. Then in the second half he got ktfo and was a totally different game, very excited to see him play again

[@barbarian92]

MLR is also expanding on the east coast (shoutout to my local team Old Glory DC for being one of them for next season), so the demand is for sure getting higher. I may be relatively new to the sport, but man I'm excited to see it becoming more and more popular!

[@rockrugbyref]

As an American dedicated to rugby since 1990, I say brilliant video!

[@thexalon]

Something I'm surprised wasn't mentioned: There's also been a substantial push for women's rugby in the USA, at least at the collegiate level, attracting women who want to be able to play a sport that involves tackling and other rough play who are largely excluded from American football. I could definitely imagine a situation in which, just like what the rest of the world calls football, the men's Eagles do alright and are at least a credible side, but the women's team is a dominant force.

[@sisamusudroka3000]

I would like to see this too

[@rittherugger160]

Uhhh... Don't you know that there has been women's rugby in the USA for over 40 years? The USA women are responsible for grabbing women's rugby by the throat and waking it up to the fact that they can be serious about the game. So many Americans have no idea about the game. Oldtimers like myself have been fighting to wake up the rest of the country for forever. You could work for a couple years to get the local TV to do a story and all that was aired was essentially "Look! Here's some idiots playing Rugby instead of football". Kind of disheartening.

[@BouncingBallsofFire]

Top stuff and happy new year! PS. The anticipation is high for your collaboration with Glove.

[@A-small-amount-of-peas]

I hope it catches on. Funnily enough my favourite American funny man Chris Farley (RIP) was an American rugby player and loved the game

[@catherinelynnfraser2001]

Merry Christmas and thank you for another wonderful video.

[@jaganath69]

Top stuff, more coverage of tier 2 nations please. Thanks again and a happy festive season to you and yours.

[@supersentai5131]

forgot to mention the usa rugby women's team. 4th place in the rugby world cup 2017 and top sevens side

[@elijahtchilembe-mpovie2715]

Also won the first Women's World Cup

[@c0nt0use63]

you forgot to mention atlanta because we're getting a pro team in 2020 and we have multiple leauges

[@masterchaoss]

I watch the MLR final this week and I definitely got hooked on the game. I definitely think there is a market here for the sport. Especially with it's physicality and higher scoring the things that are missing in soccer that holds it back here.

[@coreygorman2809]

Midwesterner here. Played football as it was the only sport on offer at my small school. Now in my 40’s and started watching rugby just a couple years ago. So sad I’ve missed out all these years. Daughter (16yo) and I made the trip to soldier field to watch the Eagles last November. 7’s has her and my 9yo son up until 2 in the morning on the weekends so we can watch the games live. Haven’t been able to talk the wife in to letting me take them to Vegas in March, though....

[@MichaelClark-uw7ex]

As a proud American, I say bring on rugby, i love it. I have room for more than 1 sport, i am not a sports snob, except soccer, can't stand it, too many spoiled babies, cheating and dives.

[@huepix]

Yup. I reckon divers should receive massive fines (like 50K plus another50K for the club) and stood down for 2 games

[@ratedpending]

So many crunching tackles in soccer you're missing, if you want to remove the diving just watch the womens game.

[@dakers2052]

Have to agree, but then, you would also need to add basketball to your exception list (since they have also mastered the fake dives, thumb in the eye, phantom foul mentality).

[@Emper0rH0rde]

"Can't stand soccer, too many spoiled babies, cheating and dives." Been watching soccer my whole life. It didn't used to be this way. The game is in need of some serious overhaul, because the bad sportsmanship and lack of tactics has become so pervasive that it's getting harder and harder to enjoy watching.

[@ratedpending]

@@Emper0rH0rde simulation should be a yellow or a straight red

[@mrwhoannon300]

I’m from the UK but I live in California, I play club rugby over here and it’s great, not as tactical and there’s still a way a go but the budget for my club is big, we go on tour and play in the best league in California. Half the coaches and players are British/Australian/Pacific Islander. It will become bigger eventually. But playing over here is fun because none of the Americans are even good 😂

[@Jose-vc2du]

And my experience was the opposite 😂, I joined my college team and they were badly funded to where the players had to pay to play, which is the main reason I stopped playing. I'm thinking isn't this suppose to be a collegiate sport? Why do I have to pay when they recruited me to play? 😂 Then on top of that we pay but it doesn't really cover transportation so we have to carpool to away games. I just thought that was some bullshit 😂😂

[@King-Dom14]

@googleuser how old are you ever thought about an academy

[@rittherugger160]

@@Jose-vc2du Well, you played rugby as a club sport. The school you attended gave the rugby club the same amount of backing and support as it did the Ultimate Frisbee team. If you had gone to a school that has given the game varsity status your experience would have been different. Probably, if you had gone to the latter school, you wouldn't have played at all because those players have been recruited out of states that have had high school rugby for decades.

[@Jose-vc2du]

@@rittherugger160 makes sense, all my school did was attempt recruit enrolled students that looked athletic which included me. They didn't have the funding to go out and recruit actual rugby players so they were stuck trying to work with what they got. There also aren't a lot of high schools in my area that offer rugby which also doesn't help the school

[@rittherugger160]

@@Jose-vc2du I started in club rugby in the early 70s. We paid to play. No coach other than more experienced players. At the time I was going to college and coaching JVs football. The closest opponent was 100 miles away and a "University" team with most of the players already graduated, some in their 30s. We and they "paid to play". We carpooled. But we partied too. Something the "university" team wouldn't have been able to do if it was "varsity". Rugby is different overseas. They have a lot of backing and infrastructure that we just don't have here. Since we don't have that infrastructure the players need to pay out of their own pockets. The dynamics are a lot different when a club owns land for fields. Locker rooms. A for profit clubhouse. A bingo game going once or twice a week. All of that provides a club with funds needed to buy kits, balls, training pads, a sled etc, etc.... Maybe even send the lads on a tour. The US has a LOOOONG way to go before we can think about toppling the All Blacks on a regular basis but if we can convince each other to build the types of clubs the top tier nations have............... WATCH THE FUCK OUT!!!

[@Daddidox]

If rugby was a more vast sport, you’d easily have over a million subscribers

[@BSRUGBY]

Fantastic video! Keep up the good work!☺☺☺

[@fatcraze216]

15s is fun but im going to bet that 7s is more popular here in the states its easier for beginners to pickup on and the free flow of the game attracts more athletes then 15s "sometimes" slow and redundant set pieces.

[@tylerwarries1551]

never been so excited when these posts come up

[@JM-gj7de]

Nice vid. Enjoyed it a lot!

[@TheWhyteC]

After watching this my desire for you to do a video on Canada like this has grown immensely. Please please do!! Especially since we've just joined major Rugby and might finally become once again a bigger force to be reckoned with.... Our Rugby history is insane and it be cool if you could do a video on it.

[@KuSaiki]

I think it should also be noted that Eddie O'Sullivan, the little Irish coach who couldn't, is spending a lot of time in America trying to get High School football players to switch to rugby. Granted it is so they can eventually play for Ireland but it could help spread awareness of the game in America and get more people involved in the game

[@taintabird23]

How will they be able to play for Ireland?

[@tomtom293inator]

@@KuSaiki 5 years nowadays

[@ethanwaitforitdavis]

Ailin ofaolain don’t think England is the worst offender this mate?? Ireland have had a fair few in recent year that stand out to me more jan England

[@owyn4799]

Pretty sure its the other way round if anything as US colleges are holding rugby trials in Ireland a lot. I know 3 people offered scholarships to these colleges because they couldnt crack the academies at home.

[@Wetfart17]

Eddie O'Sullivan spent a week coaching my team (Brown University) for the 2018 season

[@mattcvand204]

Really really well written and performed piece there man i appreciate the hell out of this! SUBSCRIBE

[@hammerface1682]

I found out about my local Rugby club in middle school (a family member helped found Rugby in my state) but he didn't convince me to join until my sophomore year. I have fallen in love with the sport since. I hope it gets way more popular here, and when I get back from the Army I hope to play for my local men's team

[@demon1spence]

you missed a key point. now rugby is in the olympics it will get a huge funding boost in pursuit of another gold medel. that will then filter down into the club game and college sport. and 15 aside will grow as a result of 7's global success.

[@williammurphy666]

Again, an amazing video... thank you

[@CartoonMastermind]

The problem with the friends episode was that the guys playing rugby were British guys in America, so it wasn't there fault, it was just the director who wanted Ross to be in the middle of a scrum upside down without a ref waving it off, if a ref didn't wave off a scrum for a player being at the top neck first, then that ref needs to be sacked

[@rittherugger160]

Oh, I've seen some bad refs in my day. Once in the 70s a ref awarded my side a 22 dropout. I threw the ball up to my fly half up by the 22 and the whistle goes.... Ref called me for a forward pass. Gave the opposition a 5 meter scrum. They took it, grinning and shaking their heads the whole time.

[@fka_the_body1542]

Great channel.. 👏👏👏👏easily the best rugby channel on KZbin 💯

[@FinleyMcB]

Yeah! Great video! Can’t f**king wait for RWC!!

[@rafa521NOLA]

I’m American and I really appreciate this video. Thanx!

[@glenhuysamer]

Mr Squidge, you are seriously a great commentator and I totally enjoy your perspectives and takes on all things rugby. (from Cape Town South Africa) Love it. How about a follow up on American Rugby on a regular basis as we in South Africa see it as a huge market for the future of the game and I have heard that many young South African players are doing study bursaries on Rugby scholarships in the USA. Which might be true for many other youngsters from other Rugby playing nations, which I think is a great way to grow the sport into the USA. What knowledge do you have on such matters?

[@fryinryan01]

Psalm wooching looks like a beast.

[@bensirach3586]

He really is.

[@owenhogg1735]

The hotdogs my brother at 1.42... yes we’re very proud

[@saoirsedeltufo7436]

Great video as ever. Any chance you could make a follow up video about why the Ospreys are back in form?

[@jimmycollins3881]

Could American football players swap codes Wages could be problem though

[@rudymatheson1415]

Jimmy Collins I honestly don’t think they could. They’d rather get paid to get concussions, than play a sport for fun.

[@titmanmd]

absolutely, a lot of guys switch over to union after their football careers end (either didn't get recruited for college or played in college but no pro prospects). adult american football is basically considered a joke.

[@vonhaig]

Eddie O'Sullivan was actually talking about this in an interview not too long ago, he's involved with a program that's targeting college players who are good but aren't quite up to the professional level. We've already seen this with Roman Salanoa from Hawaii joining the Leinster academy. There's also a sense that with all the concussion related problems in American Football Rugby might be seen as a safer game, what with the no helmets, HIAs and the stricter tackling laws. Considering the amount of young Americans who would be Irish qualified this has obvious potential benefits for us in the future, but it could also turn out well for the USA and some of the pacific island nations too.

[@dylanterry4358]

They could probably pick up some American football throwaways, the large majority of players don’t make it pro after college and rugby could potentially be a pro route from them.

[@jongillin327]

Jimmy Collins speaking as an American who came to rugby in college and has since played all over the US and in Europe, The biggest issues is the tactical awareness. The years it takes to master excellent support lines and strategy just don’t pop into your head. Look at Carlin Isles, “fastest man in rugby” But couldn’t get the strategy in the XVs game. It’s about the rugby brain. Secondly, most American footballers don’t carry and pass the ball. American rugby will succeed by doing what every other successful country has done: build a solid youth program and academy system. American rugby needs to stop thinking that just massive American footballers are going to get them over the line. They don’t see space the way say a basketball or even soccer players do.

[@NexusDagg]

You have such incredible insight into our game...

[@danielmurphy3791]

Love your vids!!!!

[@bruht9921]

Just imagine if it was the opposite. We would have so many rapid, and powerful players from the USA.

[@Thorpal]

Nice one! As you said, you should definitively do something about Rugby League :)

[@joshhale9355]

I know it’s pretty big in college sports. The college I went to had one of the best teams in college, at least when I went there.

[@sticky4444]

I live in the states and my high school is getting a rugby team this year. You already know I’m gonna be playing

[@thekraken2135]

"The scrumhalf's in the scrum' 😂😂

[@U1bhFhaile]

Holy Jesus Squidge, did I just see a Birr, Co Offaly reference?? As an Offaly man living in London and constantly having to explain where Offaly is (not a champagne county like Galway or Cork!), this is amazing!

[@redneckReno]

THANK YOU....THANK YOU....THANK YOU!!! .....for doin a segment on U.S.A. rugby!!!

[@daunte8106]

One of the obstzacles for rugby is... rugby union. In a country divided about the dangerousness of its N°1 contact sport, you have to look at the relative dangerousness of football, union and rugby league. Union is the most dangerous form of tackle football, among gridiron football and the two English forms of rugby football. The USA should switch from rugby union to league (safer, simpler, quicker paced and more spectacular), and then rugby would really grow in this country.

[@samuelbarthis9880]

There are several ways to get better. 1) form an international league with Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Japan Georgia, Canada, Kenya, Nambia, Romania, and Russia. The winner gets invited to the first tier nations(South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, England, France, Scotland, Ireland, and Argentina, whoever loses here gets to play 2nd tier rugby, 2) the USA join the Currie Cup to hone their players for the international scene (it is a tough competition). 3) Join the Six (seven) nations competition or Super Rugby after building a sufficient player pool

[@mrlouis.m9902]

I believe Kenya will qualify for the World Cup one day

[@reessoft9416]

It's certainly possible - they've become a pretty decent force in the 7's game. The 15 a side game though is quite different, as Fiji often find out.

[@headintheclouds6935]

"A man with the leg drive of a piston powered cow"

[@eddieaguirre605]

Thanks for doing a VLOG on the Eagles !

[@enderorange6717]

Happy holidays lads and ladys

[@SCR33CHINGWEAS4L]

That was the cleanest sell out advertisement if I've seen one

[@jensenmees5340]

Rugby is taking hold in the Midwest USA, it's a way for those kids who couldn't play football anymore (too fat, too slow, too many head injuries in my case) to get back out there and play team sports again. At the state tournament in Missouri there were thousands of people who showed up to watch high school kids play on an American football pitch (didn't go well, the refs didn't know the conversion from yards to meters and I ended up taking conversion kicks from about 40 meters out). It's definitely growing, and I'm so excited to play this game for years to come

[@Abram_]

Rugby is fairly popular in the part of California I grew up in. JuJu Smith-Schuster even played rugby and I got to see him play at a tournament once because I lived in the town next to him. Our team was the pride of our town, Hawaiian Gardens Eagles 2 time state champs!! 🦅🏆🏆

[@67pearse]

Possibly the best christmas present for us Rugby fans in the states :D

[@SirSamTheThird]

Love these previews of minnow teams

[@profbucko]

merry christmas squidge

[@maxkennedy6013]

Love your vids

[@jackellmannvlogs9867]

I play rugby in america and omg do i really wish it was more popular Go patriots

[@ratedpending]

Go pats

[@UnagiMonk]

SQUIIIIIIDGE THANKS FOR DOING ONE ON USA

[@pabloairth4093]

The American rugby gateway drug could just be rugby sevens. The eagles have become a force over the last few years. They just beat the ABs in a kiwi hosted tournament and are a run of good form. Of course sevens isn't the highest form of the sport in most fans minds but it's easy to see how the open spaces in sevens really appeals to Americans love of big runs.

[@Bacon56ful]

That Vunipola/Falatau joke had me creasing

[@Centre14]

american football is actually very interesting to watch. such a tactical sport just like rugby. i play rugby right now but i wanna try american football as well

[@rudymatheson1415]

Saltass I don’t understand how anyone can like it. 20 minutes of ads and random screaming while throwing forward passes.

[@Centre14]

Rudy Matheson 🤷🏽‍♂️🤷🏽‍♂️ i guess that's ur opinion.. i just really think it's a very tactical fun to watch sport. better than football (⚽️) any day

[@tmmsplace]

Rudy Matheson I’m NOT advocating for AF, but watching NFL games on TV and being at the game are entirely different. There’s a wide open field with multiple players purposed to catch the ball and run. The question at each start, who is going to be passed to and who will actual have chance of receiving the ball and advancing it. Try going live, even Pop Warner level.

[@max05_13]

I love how AJ McGinty played with Connacht when they won the Pro12

[@finntuite7487]

Best Christmas Present

[@DublinOddity]

Please don’t leave us ever squidge we love you

[@Nazomiah]

If the USA actually warms to rugby, it could be an absolute terror to the established nations. Transition from American Football for players looking for something new wouldn't be hard, and we all know they'd be really good at it.

[@makepetscop2534]

whoah there i know youre excited but it wil te take time before you turn into a terror but oneday maybe

[@bunoz527]

Took Ireland 110 years to beat the All Blacks so yeah take it easy

[@rittherugger160]

Sir, I beg to differ. Yes, the transition of athletic skills isn't that big of a deal but there are major differences between the codes. Gridiron players, except for a small part quarterbacks, are taught NOT to think. Thinking is BAD in the gridiron game. To become truly good in rugby you have to think. Not only about what to do right now but what you need to do after the right now. You need to think about what the defense thinks it needs to do. Most importantly, you need to think about what your teammates see and how the will react to what they see.

[@makepetscop2534]

and please dont come with that america will adapt and for america it will be easy bullshit

[@bluurrg1112]

Rit the Rugger I’m not sure what kind of Football you’re watching where they don’t have to think. Thinking is a huge part of Football as players and coaches

[@hamdanjaweed619]

NOTIFICATION GANG, I WANTED THID VIDEO FOR SO LONG, SQUIDGE4LYFE

[@mckayhatch6723]

Ditto!!

[@bennydavies9805]

Class video keep them coming, this rugby World Cup is going to be amazing.

[@samfederman7469]

Thanks squidge, as an American, I can tell how much research you did. First; the name Major League Rugby is too confusing, don’t have the word “league” in the name. 2. American football players were first paid in 1892 when Pudge Heffelfinger was given $500 to play. Since then, contracts have grown astronomically. This August, a defensive player named Khalil Mack was given over $100 million (not up front) and even Blake Bortles is gonna make 54 million over the next three years, however, there is a love for the sport and players wouldn’t have played if they didn’t like the sport because of everything around it. 3. If rugby wants to grow in the states, they have to learn from soccer. Soccer is the most played youth sport in America and bringing over Zlatan and Beckham immensely helps the US soccer fan base grow. The rugby team is playing in mostly small stadia while the soccer team is able to sell out 30-40 thousand seat stadiums. The only ways that rugby can get to even soccer’s level is to bring over big names to play the last leg of their career and for the national team to capture the imagination of the fans. It would also help if ESPN didn’t stream rugby on ESPN+ and actually broadcasted on ESPN2 and if CBS FOX and NBC actually do something with it.

[@FuckoffletmedowhatIw]

"First; the name Major League Rugby is too confusing, don’t have the word “league” in the name." - I agree so strongly with this. I love both Rugby Union and Rugby League, and it's going to be hard enough getting either sport into America without muddying the waters over what game is being played. This year they played a Rugby League international in Denver, and many of the American outlets were using Rugby Union symbols to advertise it, it was cringeworthy.

[@Comic_Geek2001]

Here in the state of Iowa we have a high school rugby program but due to lack of kids per school going out for rugby we have to play sevens

[@darthmong7196]

Man I'd love Perry Baker's vertical jump. Bet Red Ross would too.

[@salj8610]

Loving that Scarlets shirt cameo 😉😉

[@addospero822]

Very interesting video

[@wyfwoj8418]

I’m an Aussie but I support the Houston sabercats even though they are not doing too well

[@Lobsterman550]

Living in the us and playing rugby sucks because no one knows what it is especially in Tennessee

[@Jose-vc2du]

I feel it, I played for a bit in college and I had to explain to some what it was when I first started.

[@szafarz90]

Living in Central Europe and playing rugby feels the same.

[@ScrumCapWinger]

There are clubs in every city in Tennessee.

[@sodaking6858]

Well it will take a long time to get set up sure for most of Ireland's rugby history we were absolutely shit its only in recent years that we have got good at this game

[@rittherugger160]

I recently moved to Florida. If I talk to someone about rugby I often hear "Sounds like a good game but it's not played around here." Then I point out that there has been a team in their city for over 50 years.

[@oshtom5264]

Dear squidge, please make a video on why the Scarlets are underperforming lately. I think it would make a great video with plenty of points to talk about. Thankyou.

[@hayleyblackmore3896]

The way you said Tonga and Samoa sorry I just died

[@slagwolf7]

You perfectly describe rugby in the US. A big thing right now is 7s especially in high schools because it doenst require as many players.

[@adamdickinson2894]

New video: So who should play 15 for England? Mike Brown? Elliot Daly? Anthony Watson? Alex Goode? Chris Ashton? Nick Abendanon? Israel Folau?

[@adamdickinson2894]

@@conorsaunders6158 why

[@adamdickinson2894]

@@conorsaunders6158 I'm gna keep asking until he does it. When I first commented I was getting 50-100 likes in the comments so there obviously demand for it

[@samfederman7469]

Adam Dickinson moeen Ali, Kieran trippier, Sam burgess

[@adamdickinson2894]

@@samfederman7469 I'd take trippier tbf, then he could take over kicking duties as well

[@Tom-eq7eh]

I've seen this comment for several months, but only now have I just thought about a World where Folau plays for England. Imagine Folau, baby Folau and chonky Folau at 15, 14, 13. Just imagine. We would probably still loose to anyone with a squad better than Sheep felaters and baguette bakers.

[@Daveglorious]

Hell this guy speaks fast; faster than my ears can hold it..

[@dimitardobrev3296]

i suffer too

[@FIFAKID23797]

I don't even like rugby but these videos are so damn entertaining

[@evanlucagray]

The thing with Rugby in america is that people are starting to like american football and the NFL less and less due to CTE and concussions and simply not being able to moraly support the sport... Rugby unlike most other sports, has the hits and the agrresivity, which football also has whilst not bringing the problems of CTE to such an extreme level and while I doubt that rugby will ever be the number one sport in the US it is bound to see an increase in popularity over the coming years

[@SnowmanTF2]

It is a little early to say that the NFL's public relations issues are intractable, there have probably been several factors with ratings getting worse for a while. Prices of almost anything to do with the NFL have been increasing faster than most other items for a long time while average US wages have hardly changed in decades, the NFL had shifted from almost exclusively from free over the air channels to largely broadcasting on cable channels and ratings for all TV have been down in recent years due to more recent options for time like video games and internet. On top of this, politics has been creeping into US sports media which had previously been considered an escape for whatever the issues of the day were. For the issues the NFL has with CTE, the minor leagues in the US are hardly doing more for their athletes (especially on the subject of paying living wadges) to be considered morally superior. College football in the US has also usually had a stronger fan following than the NFL, at least partially due the longer history and wider number of regions with decent teams. NFL ratings were even up 5% this last season, which may indicate the drop had more to due with a dip in the overall quality of play on the field for a few years than anything either I said here or others have pondered might have been an issue.