The Growth of Major League Rugby

G'day guys,
Today we dive into a new type of video looking at Major League Rugby and the growth of the competition over the last few years.
0:00 - 14:48 : MLR and Teams
1:48 - 7:01 : Attendance
7:01 - 8:12 : Broadcasting
8:12 - 9:06 : International Players
9:06 - 10:15 : World Rugby Funding and 2031 USA RWC
10:15 - 12:18 : General Thoughts
#rugby #rugbyunion #rugbyleague #MLR #mlrugby #majorleaguerugby #majorleague #ncaa #ncaafootball #allblacks #springboks

[@sammyx2]

Let me know your thoughts down below on MLR! Do you think it can be successful? Will it be one of the biggest Rugby leagues in the world? Will it ever compete with the likes of NFL/NBA/NHL/MLB? Timings: 0:00 - 14:48 : MLR and Teams 1:48 - 7:01 : Attendance 7:01 - 8:12 : Broadcasting 8:12 - 9:06 : International Players 9:06 - 10:15 : World Rugby Funding and 2031 USA RWC 10:15 - 12:18 : General Thoughts

[@user-rw8uq3tv6p]

If Pickleball can be popular then surely Rugby can become more popular in America.

[@Celta88]

MLR doesn’t need to join the North American Big 4, it just needs to be self sustaining. A 40 man squad making an average of 50k a year in 20k stadiums is the dream, at least for right now. Championship TV ratings have slipped a bit, but I think that’s not as big of an issue as one might think. The novelty has worn off, so MLR has lost a lot of casual fans who watched because it was new and different, but they’ve also gained a lot of new rugby fans who watch for the sake of rugby, and that’s the base who’s going to spend on tickets and merch and drive the league’s success. There’s a solid fan base that’s being built before the 2031 RWC, which could be the catalyst for rugby getting mainstream popularity

[@mhanson7506]

MLR is managing it's development well. I look forward to the day that it can attract some of the world's best players

[@alexjack5158]

Great to see attendance growing. Just need the USA 15s side make the RWC. I wanna see Canada do well also. Crazy how far they have fallen since 2019

[@markgrant5396]

Not really a surprise for Canadian fans; We don't have a pro league,a semi pro league and now not even a single pro team...we lost our National Championship game, what a decade ago? Is this the "Growth of the game" we've had people come on tv and espouse? We can't even prepare our National teams enough to bring them to camps and set them up with enough exhibitions to be prepared. We need *All Supporters* to not just watch, but volunteer and put money into it.

[@usarugbyleagueunionfan]

Great vid. I’m a season seat holder for RFCLA. I love MLR. It’s not as technical yet that makes it more fun to watch. Running Rugby.

[@sammyx2]

Thanks mate! Glad you get to enjoy a local MLR side! I have been following the competition for some years and it is great seeing it grow

[@WinterWeaver]

It's that lack of technicality that I love... You see plays in the USMLR that you rarely see in top international teams these days. Fumbles turning into remarkable plays, turning the ball over inside the scrum... just little things that make you go "Wow! How did that happen!?". That being said... last couple of games I noticed a strong up tick in technical play, pre-planned plays executed well etc. So they are definitely getting better.

[@usarugbyleagueunionfan]

@@WinterWeaver I’m glad that you can appreciate that too! I’ve also noticed that the pace of the game is higher. Less downtown. Maybe I’m imagining that.

[@markgrant5396]

Good competiton with good fan support for some teams...Hoping Arrows find new backers in the Future.

[@CrashBallTV]

I have watched a few MLR games, standard was decent, and enjoyed all the games I watched. I do plan to watch more too. A friend of mine actually plays for Miami Sharks

[@sammyx2]

I love watching the competition, lots of aussies over there playing and the quality is improving each year!

[@guyfaux3978]

MLS was smart to build 20K seaters-- I could see MLR drawing such crowds eventually, and since MLS teams DO need to play games on the road, what better use for the park, if the MLS/NWSL/UFL team playing there (like at Audi Field, for example) isn't in Washington on a given Saturday/Sunday, than to have Old Glory play there?

[@Coffeeking600]

Great research and insight. Felt like you were talking as someone who is a die-hard fan. Great presentation of a lot of great information. Grouped really well as to not overload the viewer with new information. Really great. You’ve got yourself a new subscriber 👍🏻

[@sammyx2]

Cheers mate!

[@WinterWeaver]

I consistently watch the USMLR highlights every week, every season (cannot watch full matches where I'm at). I have noticed a clear increase in support and crowds showing up for games. It's great and I really want to see USA put a lot more money into Rugby, because they have a pool of athletes with potential to be field good international teams.

[@Valhalla_Vagabond]

Love all the stats mate, great insight! I agree with you, I don't think it needs to try to compete with NFL etc. With the population size they have, even a small share of their domestic market will top that in almost every other rugby playing nation. Looking forward to the next one!

[@sammyx2]

No doubt there mate. Appreciate the comment and watch!

[@henrilannevere7801]

Bravo pour votre travail mais en France l assistance moyenne du Top 14 est de 20 000 spectateurs pour les matchs de poules et de 70 000 pour les phases finales... Vivement que le rugby 🏉 devienne important dans le cœur ❤ des Usa.

[@ciaranbrk]

In regards to the URC crowds A lot of Welsh regions don’t get support because they used to be different teams folded into regions that don’t make sense.

[@WILTHEWOLF18]

I hope rugby gets more popular in the states, and that they expand in Idaho I have a few ideas for a name

[@BearsGamer]

Great video mate. I would love to see more in this sort of style. Selfishly i would love rugby in America to take off because then we'd have more of a chance of a BIG game developer looking at rugby. MLR is decent even if the team i followed (NY) went bust 😢

[@sammyx2]

Cheers Bears! Not wrong there mate would 100% bring a big developer in. Tell me about it, I went for LA (due to all the Aussies) then they got kicked out, went for Toronto and then they folded 😭

[@user-rw8uq3tv6p]

Rugby 08 for PS 2. 😛

[@Samizouza]

Hopefully NY and Toronto return in future, I thought they were legit teams, and a future team in Vancouver would help Canada rugby with two teams. Would love to also see Austin and Atlanta have teams again, and I don't blame the Colorado team for playing in the Super Rugby Americas in South America for development purposes at the expense of being punching bags for the other teams due to the logistics challenge.

[@jonathonwhitiora8102]

awesome I am waiting for a backer to bring a New York rugby team back to MLR there's got to Bev one in future

[@saddammall3337]

MLR should look to join up with super rugby...we need each other...

[@Samizouza]

With WR investing into the comp, the MLR has a brighter future despite being young.

[@rowan_8755]

Nice video. But maybe don’t compare highest to averages cos premierships highest is 82,000. The average attendance this season in the MLR has been 2,686 so is not comparable to the other major leagues. It’s closest comparison would be the Italian URC teams. But I think that it can grow, America is often referred to as a sleeping giant of rugby and if they create a large scale program to train american football players as rugby players could be massive. They also need to build the collage game to have talent to draw from

[@sammyx2]

In the video I do say that the top attendances are close to matching the averages of the big leagues, however MLR is no where near as consistent in that regard. The main point being that even after a few years of the competition, MLR has shown it can draw crowds that are comparable to Premiership/URC/Top 14 regular season games.

[@adam_toddster5367]

where do you find the average?

[@rowan_8755]

@@adam_toddster5367 wikipedia. same as where he got the rest of the data in the video

[@rowan_8755]

@@sammyx2 I get that but it would have been an important stat to show to present a more accurate image. I get your point but it can be easily misinterpreted. Still great video tho

[@adam_toddster5367]

@@rowan_8755 the 2024 average isn't on the wikipedia article, it says that their were around 2k in 2022, but doesn't show the 2,600 figure anywhere.

[@adam_toddster5367]

good vid

[@sammyx2]

Thanks mate

[@illegalkiwi2193]

Need an ohio team!

[@itzgxlxxi]

nfl busts need to start playing rugby!

[@Samizouza]

That's the idea, rugby provides an alternative for NFL busts and so-called "rejects."

[@michael_d_420]

The URC attendance figures are wrong. You only took in the European games. The games played in South Africa exceed a attendance of over 15 to 20 Thousand spectators each game + The finals of the URC are sold out every time 50 000 + . Both the urc finals being played in South Africa the last 2 URC games in South Africa saw an attendance of almost 40 000 in one game and just over 25 000 in the other game.

[@sammyx2]

That is for this season. The average I went off was last season. The current average for this season is not complete as there is still games to be played.

[@user-rw8uq3tv6p]

The easiest way to promote Rugby is to explain why the NFL sucks in comparison. Easy

[@ilovebeer_69]

Why not invite the cheetahs, pumas and griquas from south africa(currie cup)? Would be a competitive boost and those teams need a league

[@sammyx2]

It would give it a boost quality wise, however MLR is trying to build a competitive North American competition. And inviting Currie Cup teams creates extra costs and unneeded travel.