The Fijian Drua’s success in the Super Rugby Pacific competition is now being leveraged by World Rugby as part of its efforts to enhance the quality of rugby in the United States. Former All Blacks and Manu Samoa standout Alama Ieremia is spearheading this initiative.
Ieremia serves as the back and attack coach of the USA national rugby team, which is set to compete against the Flying Fijians in this Saturday’s Pacific Nations Cup semi-final in Tokyo, Japan, kicking off at 10:05 PM. He has also been appointed as the head coach of the Anthem Rugby Carolina franchise, a new club in the American Major League Rugby (MLR) competition. This team has been established in collaboration with World Rugby, which is providing partial funding to support its launch in Charlotte.
“The goal is to create pathways for American players and those eligible to eventually represent the Eagles,” said Ieremia, who previously coached the Hurricanes and Manu Samoa. He emphasized his commitment to developing academy players.
“The focus will be on nurturing young American talent, following the Fijian Drua model from Super Rugby,” he added.
World Rugby highlighted that this initiative would significantly boost the USA men’s national team’s performance objectives ahead of their Rugby World Cup 2027 qualification in Australia and hosting the 2031 World Cup on home soil. They noted the success of the Fijian Drua as a model for this new venture, expressing enthusiasm about Anthem Rugby Carolina’s potential as a key franchise for long-term MLR success.
Additionally, USA Rugby is conducting a global search for eligible American players to enhance their international competitiveness. Ieremia has already reached out to a number of New Zealand-based players who could represent the Eagles in the future.
“We’re expanding our search and encouraging those with American roots to consider joining us,” he mentioned.
However, the integration of eligible players is still in its early stages, according to USA Eagles head coach Scott Lawrence. “We are interested in those players, but they must have a genuine desire to represent the USA,” said Lawrence. “Playing for the USA is a matter of passion, not monetary incentive.”
After missing out on qualification for the World Cup in France last year, the focus has shifted towards the 2027 and 2031 tournaments, with the latter marking the first World Cup on American soil.
“Back in 1962, President John F. Kennedy proclaimed that we would go to the moon, and seven years later we did. In seven years, we aim to be in a World Cup quarter-final,” Lawrence stated, outlining their ambitious goal.