WM: Can you go into a little more detail on all of the players we have in Ireland? It seems like a lot of the players currently in the Eagles Camp have a Ireland connection. Especially the practice squad. Will these players be included in Eagles Abroad? Very Exciting to have so many players playing in Ireland.
This Is American Rugby: I agree, it's great to have players getting minutes in the All Ireland League. As Scott LaValla showed, it's a great way for a player to gain experience while putting themselves in the shop window. As for Americans in Ireland, almost all of them were raised in Ireland but qualify for the U.S. either through heritage or were born here. Liam Murphy and John Quill fit that bill, as do youngsters like Gearoid McDonald, Ross Deacon, Liam Bourke, Pierce Dargan, and Conor Kearns. Most of those players are still very young and naturally came up through those teams systems. Most of those players play in the All-Ireland League as they go to school, just as LaValla did.
Several American players have gone to Ireland to gain experience, just as Cameron Falcon did this last year at Trinity. Colton Cariaga is rumored to be headed that way while Shawn Pittman used the connection with Tony Smeeth to train at Trinity. I suspect you are going to see more and more players head to Ireland in the future. We'll try to include as many of these players in our Eagles Abroad as possible. Some, however, are not playing first team rugby, making it difficult to track results.
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WM: On another note do any non professional USA players look like they might be getting a nod from professional teams overseas anytime soon?
TIAR: Not that I've heard with the exception of Carlin Isles heading to Toulon. Visa restrictions are still tight keeping many U.S. players from signing. There may be one or two players that head to New Zealand like Eric Fry did.
sjsuvc1: Realistically when do you guys see a league starting up in America? Is it smarter to include Canada or is it still the same if usa rugby takes it on its self? And to add a third part what format would you take? (city teams or regional teams, start small or go big)
TIAR: It seems like we are always getting teased with some sort of pro rugby, aren't we? That said, realistically I see professional rugby within five years but not in any grand sense. I think you will see city based teams on the West Coast in which only 10 or so players on the team make money, and not much at that. Any league will have to include Canada at some point for funding and competitive purposes.
sjsuvc1: Could a potential north american "all star team" like the Lions or Baabaas be another avenue to help get those top U-20 and on the bench of national team players more playing time (again mixed in with Canada)?
TIAR: It could, but cost is a factor. Getting players together for a one off match or even a few matches costs a lot of money. And don't forget, the overseas players wouldn't be available and the domestic players have jobs. The transition between the U-20's and the national team is a bit of a concern. One solution would be to place the College All-Americans of the Eagles Selects in the Canadian Rugby Championship. Again, cost would be a factor.
sjsuvc1: Do you think usa rugby has a chance to capitolize on new streaming outputs, to help get rugby out there to American masses and somehow bring in more revenue? (ROKU, USTREAM, YOUTUBE, APPLE TV, GOOGLE TV)
TIAR: They are doing a pretty good job at using YouTube to broadcast their matches, but again, cost is a factor. I don't see them doing anything more than U.S. anytime soon.
sjsuvc1: Is NBC the best for usa rugby right now? Majority of content is always shown on Universal Sports witch is a subscription channel and if shown on regular NBC or NBC Sports its tape delayed. Can and should USAR try and land ether a 2nd tv contract or switch broadcast? USA Soccer I believe has two different broadcasting contracts. ESPN and BeIn both own rights.
TIAR: You're right to point out that Universal Sports has its flaws but there aren't really any other alternatives at the moment. As we know, Fox Soccer Plus is changing its setup and they are more inclined to pick up overseas broadcasts anyways. The best alternative to NBC Sports may be ESPN3, but even that has its difficulties. If rugby were to be pushing to NBC Sports Network I'd say it would be a better situation. If Saturday's television ratings are up and the match is exciting, you could see a match brought to NBCSN next year.
Grant Cole: Is Mags reasoning to leave a combination of security of his family unit and his view what it takes to be an Olympic rugby coach?
TIAR: Yep. He has said repeatedly that you can't have a life and be the head coach of the team at the same time, especially where his family was across the country. The next coach will either have to move his whole family to Southern California or already be based there.
Grant Cole: Other than the negative blurbs (USMA & Chicken tackling streaker), what is the best method for getting national level coverage for our National 7s Teams? ESPN Olympic Sports page? FoxSports Olympics page?
TIAR: ESPN. I know that some people don't like the network, but they are the beginning and end of what's on the sports conscious of the American public.
Grant Cole: American Barbarians. What chance do any number of rugby newbies have against the London Irish? WHO refs? (I'd rather watch Life or NYAC take on the London Irish).
TIAR: I guess we'll have to wait until next year to find out. That said, I think that London Irish was never going to put their first team out there out of safety concerns. Think about it, big athletes that are used to tackling in a different style is a recipe for injuries.
Grant Cole: How do you think our teams will place in Moscow?
TIAR: I think the men will finish in the middle of the competition, probably somewhere around 8-10 while the women should place in the top three. The format simply makes it very difficult for the men to do much better than that. New Zealand is going to win the group barring a major upset and with Canada in the pool earning those extra points will be difficult. However, after the group stage the U.S. should do quite well. The women are playing really well right now and there is no reason why they can't place in the top three.
Shaun Shepard: Why is Argentina so good? I've been paying attention to them a bit lately and it seems to me... When you compare USA to Argentina, USA really have no excuse for performing as poorly as we've been known to do. Relative to the USA, Argentina is at a sever disadvantage... So what are they doing right that we could be doing also or, what are they doing better that we could be doing better? For clarity, when I talk about comparing the two I'm referring to things like player pool size, country's population, resources, economy, sports market, etc.
TIAR: You have to remember that in the U.S. rugby is competing for athletes with literally dozens of other sports. In Argentina you have soccer (obviously number one) and basketball. Sure there are a few sports in there but the more physical players are drawn to rugby, meaning they have the first shot at a lot of players. They also have a much more developed domestic structure with some very good teams that could beat European teams if given the chance. The U.S. doesn't really have any of that.
Thanks for asking questions. Hopefully we'll have another Q&A in the near future.