The US men’s national rugby team will host the New Zealand All Blacks in Washington for an October Test match designed to grow interest in the sport amongst Americans in hopes of staging a future Rugby World Cup.
The October 23 Test, to be played at the home of the National Football League’s Washington Football Team, will be the first time the All Blacks have played in the United States since 2016.
“I know the team is excited about getting to America and particularly going to Washington, DC for the first time,” All Blacks Captain Sam Cane said in a news release.
“It will be a historic match with a lot of meaning behind it and we hope that the rugby fans there really get behind the game. We can’t wait.”
The USA Eagles are coming off their first assembly since 2019 and are looking ahead to a busy autumn with qualification for the 2023 France Rugby World Cup in focus.
The October test match is being billed as the 1874 Cup, which is a reference to the first account of organised rugby being played in the United States.
It is planned as a regular event designed to grow awareness in the sport amongst Americans as the country bids to host the Rugby World Cup in either 2027 or 2031 for the men and 2029 for the women.
Events DC is partnering with the Washington Football Tram and FedEx Field to bring the biggest international Rugby match the D.C. area has ever seen. The historic test match details will be made official when city officials announce it in an 11 a.m. press conference on Monday.
The exhibition USA Eagles vs New Zealand match is expected to sell out the 82,000-capacity FedEx Field on October 23.
According to reports, the match-up against the United States National Rugby team was initially planned to be held in Las Vegas, but a scheduling conflict with the Raiders and the NFL has forced the match to be shifted to the DMV.
source https://rugbystream.us/us-to-host-all-blacks-in-october-test/
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