The United States has pulled off a remarkable feat by successfully hosting a Fifa World Cup built around a sport many Americans were not yet fully embracing.
The success of football’s showpiece event on American soil sends a clear signal that a significant audience exists there for rugby to tap into ahead of 2031.
Rugby union actually has certain advantages over football in the American market, sitting closer to the NFL in style and physicality than any other sport on the planet.
The Fifa World Cup has allowed fans to drink in the stands and mix freely with away supporters, both of which are longstanding staples of rugby culture across Europe and the southern hemisphere.
World Rugby must recognise that the 2031 Rugby World Cup needs to feel genuinely different from the edition being held next year in Australia and the 2023 tournament staged in France.
The Fifa World Cup final featured an extended half-time show for performers like Justin Bieber and BTS, and that kind of spectacle is precisely what rugby must be willing to embrace in 2031.
As former England Sevens captain Ollie Phillips puts it, “a World Cup in the United States isn’t really for those fans” who would inevitably moan about such entertainment additions.
World Cups traditionally split between “banker” tournaments in established rugby markets like England and France, and growth tournaments in newer or smaller rugby nations like Japan.
The 2031 Rugby World Cup has the rare potential to be both a major revenue generator and a genuine vehicle for growing the game across a vast new audience.
Picking the right venues will be critical, as filling 60,000-capacity NFL stadiums to the level football achieved may not be a realistic target for rugby organisers.
Cities like Miami, Charlotte, San Diego, Chicago, and Philadelphia all present options, with Chicago and Philadelphia having previously hosted rugby at major level.
New Zealand are already touring in Baltimore as part of a British and Irish Lions-style series, demonstrating that American cities can attract and support elite rugby fixtures.
Rugby union must also move quickly to establish a stronger foothold before rugby league, which has already made inroads in Las Vegas partly through the influence of the Australian NRL.
Broadcasting strategy will be just as vital as venue selection, with hydration breaks potentially offering useful moments to explain the sport’s complex nuances to first-time American viewers.
The United States has delivered what Phillips describes as “a slam dunk” with the Fifa World Cup, and rugby must now treat that success as a template for its own open goal in 2031.