The Fijian Drua’s successful model in the Super Rugby Pacific competition has been embraced by World Rugby as part of its initiative to enhance rugby standards in the United States. Driving this effort is Alama Ieremia, a former All Blacks and Manu Samoa star center, who serves as the back and attack coach for the USA national rugby team. The USA team is set to face the Flying Fijians in the Pacific Nations Cup semi-final in Tokyo, Japan, on Saturday at 10:05 PM.
Ieremia has recently taken on the role of head coach for the Anthem Rugby Carolina franchise in the American Major League Rugby (MLR) competition. Announced earlier this year, the team is being launched in collaboration with World Rugby, which is providing partial funding to establish the franchise in Charlotte.
Ieremia emphasized the importance of creating pathways for American and eligible players to advance to the Eagles, the USA’s national team. He expressed enthusiasm about the academy players he is working with and reiterated that the team will specifically focus on developing young American talent inspired by the Fijian Drua model from Super Rugby.
According to World Rugby, the establishment of this new team aims to significantly boost high-performance objectives while supporting the long-term ambitions of the USA men’s national team in preparation for the Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia and hosting the 2031 edition in the USA. The partnership is based on the success of the Fijian Drua, and there’s excitement about the potential of Anthem Rugby Carolina as both a developmental pathway and a significant franchise within the MLR’s future.
Additionally, USA Rugby is initiating a global recruitment drive to attract eligible American players. Ieremia has reached out to several players in New Zealand who meet the eligibility requirements to represent the Eagles in the future.
“We’re definitely expanding our search and reaching out for prospective players who may have American ancestry,” said Ieremia. However, the process of bringing these players to the USA and preparing them for possible international play is still in early development, according to USA Eagles head coach Scott Lawrence.
“We are interested in these types of players, but they must have a genuine desire to represent the USA,” Lawrence stated. “It is an emotional commitment rather than a financial one.”
Following their failure to qualify for the previous year’s World Cup in France, the USA is now focused on 2027 and 2031, where they will host the Rugby World Cup for the first time on American soil.
“In 1962, President John F. Kennedy stated we would go to the moon, and seven years later we achieved that goal. In seven years, we will have a World Cup and aim to be in the quarter-finals. That’s our ambitious goal,” Lawrence expressed.