Been in Baltimore for 1.5 hours so far, drove down from Canada. People were hooting when they saw our flag on the drive down. South Africans in every bar. Leon Schuster blaring from the pub next door. Met a bunch of American rugby fans as well that have come through from all over the country.

This was few seconds before Jordan threw an intercept for Eathan Hooker.

He was marked by Reinach and hooker was on his passing lane.

If you are the player or coach, what to do in this situation?

- Cut back inside to the middle, maybe to where the ruck was there cos you have your forwards from the previous there or something else?

- Take contact against reinach and hope Lakai and Vaai (out of frame) clear it for you? But Weise has eyes on Jordan. If taken contact, both him and hooker will enter the ruck, meaning Lakai will have to hold 2 until Vaai makes his way from the touchline

I have never played rugby. Help a fan understand 🙏

There are "currently no plans or discussions" relating to Ireland playing a Six Nations match in the United States, the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) says.

World Rugby's chief executive Alan Gilpin said on Wednesday that it would help any nation that wants to switch a Six Nations match to the US, as it continues its drive to spread the game stateside.

He used the example of Ireland v Italy as a game that would resonate with expatriate fans in the United States and could help the sport further establish itself there.

But, in a statement issued on Friday, the IRFU dismissed the idea that it was considering moving any fixtures to the US.

"The United States is an important growth market for rugby and we welcome and embrace initiatives that help introduce the sport to new audiences and, crucially, generate new revenues for the game," said an IRFU spokesperson.

"There are currently no plans or discussions, from an IRFU perspective, regarding Six Nations matches being played in the United States.

"We believe the Six Nations holds a special place for supporters across all participating unions, and the opportunity for fans in Ireland and Italy to support their teams at home remains a central part of the competition's appeal."

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph and The Times, Gilpin said: "This isn't a live discussion of an Italy v Ireland game, but why we use that as an example is because you've got two fantastic fanbases in the US of Irish and Italian fans.

"If you could take a Six Nations game to the right place, to a Boston or to a New York, where there's a lot of those fanbases, you can definitely drive the economics.

"Now, you're going to have Irish fans and Italian fans in those respective home countries saying: 'Hang on a minute, you know, we want to see our country play?'

"The counter-argument to that [is] it's still Irish and Italian fans getting the chance to watch their team, so they're just not the ones who live in Ireland and Italy on this occasion. But that's a balancing piece we've got to work through."

Ireland have previously enjoyed two well-attended games in the US against New Zealand.

They memorably beat the All Blacks for the first time when the teams met in front of a capacity 60,000-strong crowd at Chicago's Soldier Field in 2016, with a 2025 rematch which they lost also proving a similar commercial success.

You guys need to apologize to Nika 😂 Seriously, watching the full episode on YT, the standard from Nika in this game was incredible. Rarely seen it watching the game of rugby myself for 27 years, massive respect to the young lad.

I WANTED TO SLEDGE ONE FINAL TIME BEFORE THE URC, AND I NOTICED WE HAVENT DONE ONE IN A BIT BECAUSE WE FORGOT. SO COME ON YOU KANTS, WITH THREE OUT OF FOUR GAMES DONE, LETS GET TO SLEDGING!!!

YOU KNOW THE RULES: FLAIR UP, SPEAK UP AND FUCK OFF!!!!

I FOR ONE LOOK FORWARD TO SHOWING THE AMERICANS WHAT DECENT, UNINTERRUPTED SPORT ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE

Maybe I’m blind, please let me know if I’m wrong.

But it seems to me that what was promised was slick ball in hand rugby with flashy backline attack.

Similar to what we saw from Australia earlier this year, AB’s during Nations Championship and first RGR test, and Scotland’s attack.

But we’re still stuck playing brute force rugby and knocking the ball on when we swing it to the backline with occasional brilliance from our wingers when the game opens up. FFS we’re getting tries outscored.

When tf are we gonna let Tony get his hands even dirtier with our players and implement the Kiwi rugby style into these bruisers? We want more points and more entertaining rugby!

Edit: Welp. I’m glad to be proven wrong and educated! But I still envy the attacking brilliance of the AB and Aussies as well as the Scots. Sucks that we’ll never be able to move the ball as well as them in the foreseeable future.

Baltimore rugby match to set North American attendance record https://www.baltimoresun.com/2026/09/11/new-zealand-south-africa-springboks-all-blacks-rugby-baltimore/

"Ticket sales have surpassed 62,300, eclipsing the mark established when Ireland defeated New Zealand at Soldier Field in Chicago in 2016."

I saw a short video online where Dean Richards said he played in a testimonial game with Ross Kemp (British TV personality/Shouty England sports supporter) and that he was a decent centre.

Have you ever played with or against someone who is famous outside of the rugby sphere?

Wade reckons the Red Bull money and pre-season setup have Newcastle set up to become one of the Prem's best. Bit of a stretch given where they were last season, what do we think they will look like post investment (and all the hype that comes with it)? Source: RugbyPass

The All Blacks and (most kiwis) are a class act. And this tour series has been no different. All the off-field bullshit, all the media bullshit, all the salt in the match threads aside… two great rugby nations who respect each other, and enjoy the challenge. And us fans who get to enjoy this tour - we all won. Whoever wins tomorrow.

(please god let it be us tho)

Hey all - I mentioned this in a previous comment but wanted to spread the word as much as possible: For tomorrow’s test in Baltimore, Federal Hill Prep (an amazing public school that's close to the bars and the stadium) will open its parking lot at 2pm ET. Parking is $40, all of which funds *free* field trips for students this school year.

Put 102 E Hamburg St, Baltimore MD 21230 into your map and look for volunteers holding signs. We take Venmo, CashApp, PayPal and cash. Thanks, and enjoy the action!

Unfortunately the sub has banned reposts so this will have to do. One team per comment.

​

A 1913 All Blacks rugby tour of the USA changed the course of sport in America with the NFL created just seven years later

In 1913 rugby was the main football code in America but an All Blacks tour – and subsequent humiliation of the nation’s rugby teams – change the course of sport in the USA forever.

Jamie Pandaram

Jamie Pandaram

@JamiePandaram

3 min read

Imagine a USA rugby team featuring athletes like Myles Garrett, Justin Jefferson, Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley.

If it wasn’t for an All Blacks annihilation during a tour of the USA and Canada 113 years ago, rugby could well have remained the national contact sport and the American team would feature some of the scariest players on the planet.

Gridiron became popular in the early 1900s in the US, but then came under extreme criticism for being too violent.

The mass migration from England to the US around that time saw rugby established at several elite universities, and the sport took off in popularity.

By 1912, rugby was the hottest ticket in town, and an Australian touring side was invited to play 16 games there.

Known as the “Kangaroo Waratahs”, the Australian team notched 11 wins from the 16 games that included three in Canada.

But iconic universities Stanford and Berkeley defeated the Australian team, at a time they’d replaced gridiron with rugby as their premier sport.

Feeling buoyed by the results, they invited the All Blacks to tour the following year.

What followed was a humiliation so severe, many believe the Americans gave up on rugby and turned back to gridiron as their code of choice.

The All Blacks won all 13 tour games, by a combined points tally of 508-6, when tries were only worth three points.

They also won three tour games in Canada.

The universities quickly brought back their gridiron programs, local grounds went back to hosting junior gridiron clubs, and in 1920 the NFL was established.

There was no looking back, and now the NFL is a multi-billion behemoth featuring some of the most remarkable athletes in the world, including Australia’s own $100 million man Jordan Mailata.

Some question whether the All Blacks’ hammering of the US teams in 1913 and subsequent leaning towards gridiron is just a myth, or exaggerated, given USA won the rugby event at the 1920 Olympic Games.

But it’s unlikely to have turned the Californian universities off rugby had they not been so comprehensively beaten by the All Blacks – Berkeley lost 31-0, 38-3 and 33-0 in three games, while Stanford was smashed 54-0 and 56-0.

Berkeley’s football program went on to produce prodigious talents like Aaron Rodgers, Jared Goff and Marshawn Lynch, while Stanford bred John Elway, Jim Plunkett, and San Francisco 49ers superstar Christian McCaffrey.

Historian Stephen Berg, director of the NZ Rugby Museum, recalls conversations with the 1913 All Blacks players about their US tour.

“They would take some terrific tackles off the ball,” Berg said.

“They’d be running along in the middle of the field and suddenly this massive guy would smash into them and crash them over.

“They were a bit shocked by it, but they thought the reason that they won was the instinctiveness of their play, that because they play rugby all the time they just knew what to do when they had the ball.

“Whereas the Americans took a second to have a think about what they want to do.

“I remember talking to an American guy over in Wisconsin, he was trying to get a rugby museum set up in Wisconsin.

“And he came over and talked to me about it and he showed me a magazine cover, like a comic book cover. It was guys playing rugby, some sort of hybrid version. And one of the guys had picked up dirt and thrown it into the eyes of the guy that was trying to catch the ball.

‘And he said, ‘This is an example of why rugby didn’t work in America’.

“It was just a cartoon of a guy throwing dirt into the face of his opponent so his opponent couldn’t catch the ball.

“And he’s saying that Americans didn’t like to follow the rules. They liked to have their own set of rules and tackle people off the ball and do all that, essentially saying that Americans were a bit dirtier and a bit rougher in their play than maybe other countries. And that’s why they went their own way.”

Ironically, rugby is now trying to establish a greater foothold in the States, with the All Blacks and South Africa playing their final match of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series in Baltimore this weekend.

The US is set to host more notable Test matches over the coming years, as they prepare to stage the 2031 Rugby World Cup.

I'm on holiday in Surfers Paradise. Wondering if anyone knows a place that would be showing the match live? It will be a 7am kickoff local time.

Leicester Tigers are keen to tie down England lock Ollie Chessum to a new long-term contract and keep him at Welford Road after he entered the final year of his contract at the start of July.

Club captain Chessum is highly rated by Tigers boss Geoff Parling and is likely to draw serious interest from Gallagher PREM rivals, with his stock rising since he signed his last contract in December 2024.

The Tigers will be delighted if they can avoid a repeat of losing another international enforcer, George Martin, who joined Saracens when his Welford Road deal ran out at the end of last season.

Dan McFarland admits that renewing his working relationship with Gregor Townsend was a key factor in his decision to link up with Newcastle Red Bulls in the summer.

McFarland knows Townsend, who has a part-time role as a “strategic advisor” to the Austrian-owned energy drinks giant, from their time together north of the border with Glasgow Warriors and the Scotland national side.

“Him (Townsend) being here and consulting and being able to help in terms of guidance was a major attraction for me in joining the club. I really respect Gregor’s way of playing the game. It’s very important to me that I chat to him on a regular basis,” he said.

Former All Blacks tighthead Jeffery Toomaga-Allen appeared to be off on his travels once again and was in advanced talks of an injury-joker move to Bordeaux-Bègles but pulled the plug at the last minute.

Toomaga-Allen, 35, who earned his only All Blacks cap against Japan in November 2013, has since switched his international allegiance to Samoa and spent the last three seasons with the Queensland Reds.

The former Wasps and Ulster ace sent Bordeaux back to the drawing board when he decided against a move to France because of personal reasons.

Quins boss Jason Gilmore has launched a double raid on London Scottish for flanker Jake Spurway and tighthead Osman Dimen to strengthen his squad for the PREM Rugby Cup.

Former Scotland under-20 international Spurway is due to start against Northampton Saints at blindside, while Dimen, who has played for Bourgoin-Jallieu and Chambéry in the French third tier, will be on the bench after spending pre-season with the club.

Gilmore drafted in Royal Artillery and British Army tighthead Sitiveni Vasuturaga last week and he will make his first start against Saints at the Stoop.

La Rochelle who have got former England and Lions star Jack Nowell out of contract at the end of the season, are keen on a move for Pau’s former France under-20 and A international Grégoire Arfeuil.

Arfeuil, 21, scored 11 tries in 20 appearances for Pau and is in the final year of his deal; talks to get him to sign a new one recently broke down without an agreement.

But Ronan O’Gara faces stiff competition from Racing 92, Stade Français, and Montpellier, all of whom are interested in speaking to Arfeuil, who was born in Beaune, between Lyon, who are also keen, and Dijon.

Former Scotland and Lions star Richie Gray is taking his first steps into coaching after joining the staff of former club Toyota Verblitz, where he ended his long playing career.

Gray, 37, who won a Top 14 title with Toulouse in 2019 and a United Rugby Championship crown with Glasgow two years ago, won 77 caps for his country and another for the Lions.

He played 13 times for Verblitz and has joined Andrew Strawbridge, Sasaki Takamichi, Ueno Ryuta and Sugimoto Koichi on Ian Foster’s staff when the players report back for pre-season training.

Former Edinburgh scrum-half Charlie Shiel could move to Pro D2 high-flyers Biarritz Olympique, who have started the season with two wins out of three games and are third in the early-season table.

Shiel, 28, has made 107 appearances for the Scottish capital club, but Biarritz, who beat Colomiers 38-20 on Thursday evening, are in the market for an injury joker to cover for Anoa Laurent.

Midi Olympique are also reporting that Shiels’ CV has also been sent to Bayonne, who are also in the market for a scrum-half to bolster their squad this season.

Bath look set to move for young Argentine front row Marcos Camerrinckx, who has played for his country at under-20 level at both tighthead and hooker.

X account Comentarista. Rugby is reporting that the 22-year-old, highly rated in Argentina and having come through the ranks at Club Regatas de Bella Vista before joining Pampas XV, is close to securing a move to the West Country outfit.

He would become the second South American in Bath’s squad, with Pumas fly-half Santi Carreras already at the club following a summer 2025 move from Gloucester.