For both men’s and women’s 15’s we talk about how their isn’t enough domestic talent but nobody talks about all the players retiring or finishing their careers early because the profession of pro rugby is so difficult to maintain and survive on.

How many players would still be playing in their prime, in an eagles jersey, if they were supported like professional players in other countries and made a livable wage?

In the past, pre-MLR players made livable wages overseas with domestic players having time to work full time jobs (making full time $) while training and playing club rugby.

Which players would still potentially playing the game? A few that come to mind..

Seamus Kelly Malon Al Jaboori Hanco Martin Iosefo

And I’m sure a ton more… can we name a few that have called it earlier than their prime? Curious everyone’s thoughts on this take!

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• 🎙️ USA Men’s Head Coach, Scott Lawrence
• ⭐️ Pacific Nations Cup Team Performance
• ⭐️ New Caps
• ⭐️ Pathways Program Growth
• ⭐️ Meaningful Match Minutes
• ⭐️ More Eagles heading to Anthem?
• ⭐️ Scott on the team’s focus and MLR’s impact…

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I am completely new to the sport. Mainly been watching clips and games of National Teams on YouTube. But I want to start supporting a club but I'm unsure of which league to tune in to. I feel like there are so many leagues and team across the world that it's just overwhelming.

Trying to buy a Benetton Treviso jersey but World Rugby Shop doesn't have it. Anyone have a reputable website they have bought jerseys from?

🚨 Wednesday night on US Rugby Happy Hour LIVE, We welcome USA Rugby Men’s Head Coach, Scott Lawrence to discuss Pacific Nations Cup and Autumn matches, then USA Women’s Head Coach, Sione Fukofuka joins to talk WXV1!  Join us LIVE!

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Lost by 40 but a lot of it was at the end and the spread was 53.5. Other than handling error's I thought the starters played surprisingly well vs the best team in the world. Kelter gave England a try but got 2 of her own and was a 1-woman wrecking crew out there. Scrum was solid enough until the subs came in and were on skates. Emba looked good on the wing. Very encouraged by this game and looking forward to the rest of this stacked tournament.

Looking to buy a robot camera to do game film for my teams. We'd mainly use it for our adult 15s season, but would like to use it for our high schoolers to get some highlight reel footage for college/pathway applications. Other teams in our union have been using VEO & like it, but we just can't afford the subscription fee.

Does anyone use another brand they'd recommend? Or another brand they'd say avoid? I'm also looking at Trace and some AI tripods that connect to phones.

Edit: spelled VEO wrong.

I was told when getting my entry coaching certification that there were new pathways being developed? Was this true or lip service?

I recently tore my ACL in my clubs first match of the season (go figure right 🙄) anyway, I’m trying to submit a claim for the CIPP so they can assist with bills and all but it’s the biggest joke ever. I’ve tried doing this twice before in the past for a broken ankle and they have me the run around telling me I had to pay more when I had already met their deductible requirements. Now this time I can’t even get in touch with someone about how to do this properly. Like what’s the point if paying $80 for this “insurance” if they’re not gonna help the players when they get hurt? Like I’m looking at maybe 25 grand plus in bills between doctors visits, MRI’s, surgery and PT and it feels like USA Rugby is telling me to go fuck myself, anyone have any advice or know anyone I can speak to?

I fully believe that if players in the USA want to get better, and be competitive at an international level, then they most go play in the overseas leagues where rugby is played at a higher quality level, not in the MLR.

Yes the MLR is professional, but it’s no secret that the MLR is levels below top quality leagues such as the Premiership and Top 14. I’d even argue 2nd tier league teams in the Pro D2 and Championship teams could handily beat the MLR champion.

Being surrounded by players that are better than our current national team players, day in and day out during training, will only make our players better.

The level that rugby is being played overseas is much higher than what we have domestically in the MLR. When we look at the USA soccer national team, most of our top players are playing in overseas leagues because it’s well known that they have better competition than what’s in the MLS. Players in the MLR and those capped by the USA national team should strive to be able to play in overseas leagues.

I’d even go as far as saying this - I believe the Anthem should compete in the England rugby pyramid, or at least some USA national team funded “club”/team entering as a Level 5 team, then working their way up the English pyramid. Level 5 is where rugby turns professional in the UK by our standards (all guys are paid, some full time but most on match feeds). I don’t know how the logistics, or visas or finances would work, but I think a USA rugby team/club that’s based in the UK, playing in the England pyramid would provide valuable playing experiences day in and out against much better opposition than what’s in the MLR

Thoughts on this?

Edit: Keane or Lawrence feel free to slide into my DMs if you see this

🚨 Tomorrow night on US Rugby Happy Hour LIVE, Bill & Fitzy cover the latest in USA Rugby and MLR news, then USA Rugby Men’s Head Coach, Scott Lawrence joins in to discuss Pacific Nations Cup and USA’s upcoming Autumn matches. Join us LIVE!

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Hiya,

I'm looking at presale tickets for the Rugby World Cup at Twickenham and noticed that each ticket type has a code that is a mix of letters and numbers (e.g., S2C, S3C, S2A, etc.) before the seating category (A, B, C). I’m a bit confused about what these codes actually mean.

The cost is the same for all the A's regardless of the code before it, so I’m wondering if these codes indicate any important differences, like the location of the seats, entrances, etc. Has anyone else noticed this or figured out what they mean?

Also, if you've been to Twickenham for past events, I'd love to hear your thoughts on whether it's worth paying extra for higher-category tickets or if there’s not much of a difference in view/experience.

Thanks in advance for any insights!

Based on the four games we have seen in recent weeks, I was thinking it might be an idea to put the PNC players in 4 categories. The categories would be somthing like:

A - Outstanding players around whom the team can be built.

B - Good players who can be part of the squad moving forward into November and 2025

C - Players who were adequate but not essential to future squads

D - Players who either underperformed or were not of adequate quality for international rugby

So far, I have:

A - Mooneyham, Fanana Schultz, Iscaro, Ryan, Lopeti

Mooneyham was fantastic, and I was sceptical of his ability to perform at this level. Dyer will struggle to get his 14 jersey back. JFS was our best ball carrying forward by some margin. Iscaro looked solid and Ryan was a baller. For me, Lopeti was our best midfielder.

B - Pifileti, Davis, Daniel Peterson, Helu, Boni, Augspurger, Tu’avao, Besag, Fricker, JP Smith, Carty

Pifileti was probably our second most powerful forward, Davis showed promise and the retreating scrum stabilized when he came on. Daniel tackles like a demon, but looks a bit lost with ball in hand in space. Peterson is consistent, Boni hit the line hard. Auspurger scores tries and leads by example. Helu has some athleticism and committment, but is he a lock or a 6? Tu'avao runs and tackled hard. I think Besag maybe lacks a little speed for 13 but is a talented footballer. Fricker is defensively a little wobbly but our best option at the back. JP Smith has a slow service at times, but that big left boot and physicality in defence make him our best option. Carty had some great moments, but those fumbles were expensive.

C- Mattina, Turnbull, Wilson, Damm, McNulty, Tonga'uiha, De Haas, McVeigh, Telea, Santos, Maugham

Mattina played on the gainline which was good for our offence, Wilson was better than in the doomed WC qualification campaign, Damm played like a good number 8 miscast as a lock. McNulty can throw in, but isn't especially powerful as a carrier. Tonga-uiha probably at the bottom of the back row list, but at least hasn't been made to play lock. De Haas made a few costly errors and McVeigh probably moved ahead of him. Didn't see enough of Telea or Santos. Maugham struggled in the scrum.

D - Not sure anyone quite deserves this grade, but some in C will inevitably make space for players who weren't available for the PNC, I'm thinking players like Geiger, Taufeete'e, Ainu'u, McGinty, Kruse, Dyer.

What do you think?

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I can spot the following: Madison Hughes, Perry Baker, Folau Niua, Matai Leuta, Maka Unufe, possibly a Ben Pinkelman in the bottom right (one up from bottom). Also the very top left, is that Martin Iosefo? Lastly, right under the TE in Emirates, looks like Danny Barrett. Yall able to make out any others/confirm the ones I am not 100% on?

Anyone know the plan? It would be nice to put it out early because I’d love to book travel. The idea of two semi finals and the 5/6 game all in a weekend could be some smashing rugby.

I’m a brand new coach and have no idea how to set my game day roster for NCR. Any help is appreciated! TIA

For me hopeful. They are progressing every week. Plus they are back in camp in a month for the November internationals. The attack though…. It was a lot like watching OGDC this year, solid defense and flashes of brilliance on attack but not getting it together consistently. That being said 2-2 in November is my guess.

Back for another week and it was a great match to watch overall! I did it a little bit different this time in sending out the form AFTER the match is played that way we hopefully get more input. I'll close the ratings on Wednesday.

https://forms.gle/J43vF2dz3N99r9bW6

When we talk of rugby powerhouses ,we think of France and South Africa along with New Zealand ,by powerhouse I mean qualifying for world cups and beating top teams ,what can mlr and rugby in the USA do in general ?

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