World Rugby says it would help move a Six Nations game to the USA
World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin says the organisation would support any nation wanting to switch a Six Nations fixture to the United States as part of efforts to grow the sport there. Any such move would ultimately be up to the competing teams.
World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin has said the organisation would help any nation wishing to relocate a Six Nations match to the United States, as part of a continued push to expand rugby's presence in the American sports market.
His comments came as South Africa and New Zealand sold out Baltimore's 71,000-capacity M&T Bank Stadium for Saturday's fourth and final Test in their "Greatest Rivalry" series. With the men's and women's Rugby World Cups scheduled for the US in 2031 and 2033 respectively, tournament organisers are keen to bring more high-profile fixtures across the Atlantic.
Gilpin told the Daily Telegraph that the match-day economics of the South Africa v New Zealand fixture were comparable to a Six Nations game, showing that financial return is no longer a barrier to staging such matches in the US.
Past efforts
New Zealand has long been at the forefront of rugby's American push. Ireland famously beat the All Blacks for the first time in Chicago's Soldier Field in 2016 in front of 60,000 fans, with a 2025 rematch proving similarly successful commercially. New Zealand has also played the United States in Washington and Fiji in San Diego over the past decade.
Gilpin suggested that the Six Nations' long history and its connection with expatriate fans in the US could help further establish rugby there, pointing to cities like Boston or New York with large Irish and Italian communities as potential venues.
Wales played home fixtures at London's Wembley Stadium during the 1998 and 1999 Six Nations while the Principality Stadium was under construction, but relocating a match across the Atlantic would be unprecedented in the tournament's 143-year history.
England women's head coach John Mitchell, who previously led the United States men's team, expressed doubt about the plan's prospects, noting that American sports fans tend to be loyal to established rivalries rather than new ones. Ultimately, the decision on any such move would rest with the competing teams.
