The Fijian Drua’s successful participation in the Super Rugby Pacific competition is now being used as a model by World Rugby to elevate the level of rugby in the United States. Alama Ieremia, a former All Blacks and Manu Samoa player, is at the forefront of this initiative. He serves as the back and attack coach for the USA national rugby team, which is set to compete against the Flying Fijians in the Pacific Nations Cup semi-final on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan, kicking off at 10:05 PM.
Ieremia has also taken on the role of head coach for the Anthem Rugby Carolina franchise in the American Major League Rugby (MLR) competition, a team announced earlier this year in collaboration with World Rugby, which is providing partial funding to help establish the team in Charlotte.
“It’s an effort to create pathways for American and eligible players to eventually join the Eagles,” Ieremia stated, emphasizing his commitment to developing academy players. “The focus will be on nurturing young American talent, modeled after the Fijian Drua’s approach in Super Rugby.”
World Rugby remarked that this new initiative would significantly advance the high-performance aspirations of the USA men’s national team as they prepare for Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia and the chance to host the 2031 World Cup on home soil. They noted that the collaboration has proved successful for Fiji, which reached the quarter-finals of Rugby World Cup 2023, and expressed enthusiasm for the potential of Anthem Rugby Carolina as a key franchise in the long-term MLR vision.
In addition, USA Rugby is conducting a global recruitment drive to identify eligible US players. Ieremia has already reached out to several players based in New Zealand who hold the necessary documentation to represent the Eagles in the future. “We’re actively searching for players who have American heritage,” Ieremia shared.
However, according to USA Eagles head coach Scott Lawrence, the process of integrating eligible players into the US team is still in early development. “While we are considering this type of player, they must have a genuine desire to represent the USA,” Lawrence explained. “Playing for the USA is a matter of passion, not financial gain.”
After missing out on last year’s World Cup in France, the focus has shifted to the 2027 and 2031 tournaments, with the latter marking the first Rugby World Cup hosted on American soil. “In 1962, JFK said we would land on the moon, and seven years later we did. We are aiming for a World Cup quarter-final in seven years,” said Lawrence, expressing determination for the future of rugby in the USA.