Former All Blacks full-back Mils Muliaina has put his backing behind the idea to add an American team to Super Rugby Pacific, a move that could \u201centice\u201d South Africans to return to the competition.<\/b><\/p>\n
Last week, a report emerged stating that World Rugby were in talks with Super Rugby over a possible expansion to the west coast of the United States.<\/p>\n
With America hosting the 2031 Rugby World Cup, there are fears that the national team will not be competitive enough by then, and World Rugby are exploring options to fast-track their progress.<\/p>\n
USA joining Super Rugby?<\/p>\n
According to the report by ROAR Sports<\/a>, World Rugby was \u201cstrongly considering\u201d delaying USA\u2019s<\/a> hosting of the global showpiece until 2035 to give the nation a longer lead-in before opting to back their bet and go all-in.<\/p>\n World Rugby<\/a> has since invested heavily in Major League Rugby, including Anthem Rugby Carolina, which is made up predominantly of homegrown talent. Now, the game\u2019s governing body is exploring the opportunity of following the Fijian Drua and Jaguares template of a Super Rugby team, providing a strong base and clear pathway to the national team.<\/p>\n The idea of adding an American team to Super Rugby has piqued the interest of All Blacks<\/a> great Muliaina, who feels it can work if the USA team is given enough time to settle in.<\/p>\n He urges the competition\u2019s organisers to learn from the Jaguares\u2019 success but also the Sunwolves\u2019 failure.<\/p>\n \u201cA bit of talk this week that World Rugby are exploring the possibility and are having talks in America, considering the 2031 Rugby World Cup, of having a Super Rugby team there; I think it\u2019s a goodie,\u201d Muliaina<\/a> said on the Breakdown<\/a> show.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a great initiative to start talking, we have got time, I\u2019m not saying do this tomorrow, take two or three years to sort of get it in place, we\u2019ve had lessons from the Jaguares, the Japanese side and now is the time to actually evolve Super Rugby.\u201d<\/p>\n Muliaina also thinks that adding a team from America will grab the attention of South African players who may want to return to Super Rugby, and said that they should actively recruit Springboks.<\/p>\n \u201cEntice the South Africans to come back, imagine a Manie Libbok coming back and playing Super Rugby in that USA team but also implementing some of those [USA] players to try and really boost it up before the Rugby World Cup in 2031,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a great opportunity, I understand they\u2019re in talks, and I think we should stop giving it lip service. Let\u2019s get a gun in the next three or so years.\u201d<\/p>\n Jeff Wilson\u2019s concerns<\/p>\n Fellow former All Black Jeff Wilson did have some reservations, though.<\/p>\n \u201cThe concern here, though, is the fact that if you\u2019re trying to promote the game in the US, it would have to have a fair number of players who are USA players? If you\u2019re trying to capture the imagination, going closer to 2031, you need to be competitive and we saw when the Sunwolves came together, they didn\u2019t give them the roster and squad to get any momentum and they kept moving them around in terms of where they\u2019re playing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat would be the one concern for me is the fact that you need locals if you\u2019re going one improve the game for the USA national team but also get some exposure.\u201d<\/p>\n Ex-scrum-half Justin Marshall weighed in, adding: \u201cBut you need patience.\u201d<\/p>\n Before citing the success of Jaguares, who struggled initially but reached the Super Rugby final in 2019, their last full season in the competition.<\/p>\n \u201cIt took a while for the Jaguares to get going and they made a Super Rugby final. We were all at the start going \u2018Why are they in this competition, they\u2019re not offering [anything]\u2019\u2026 and then they ended up in a final,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cEqually with Moana Pasifika, we persevered, persevered and now look at them and they\u2019ve won more games than they\u2019ve ever won.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always going to take time, so if it\u2019s a USA team \u2013 I really like the idea \u2013 you can\u2019t just dismiss them straight away.<\/p>\n \u201cSo maybe you start off with a few really strong USA players, and then some that you can grab from the rest of the world and just give them time.\u201d<\/p>\n 2025 Rugby Championship fixtures and kick-off times as Springboks return to Eden Park before Twickenham finale<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n