World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin has been reported as suggesting a future Six Nations fixture could be staged in the US
On a winter afternoon in 1883, four neighbouring nations did something deceptively simple. They agreed to play each other at rugby across a short, bitter season, taking turns to host on their own patch. England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales formed the Home Nations Championship.
Matches were decided by goals, not points. Trains ran late. Boots were heavy. England won the title and, by beating the other three, claimed what would later be called the Triple Crown. What mattered, even then, was the ritual of place: home crowds, familiar grounds, away-day pilgrimages.
That ritual is the spine of what became the Five Nations with France in 1910 and, since 2000, the Six Nations with Italy. For 140 years it has been a European tournament, staged in Europe.
Now comes a provocative idea for a new age. During media engagements in Chicago around Ireland vs New Zealand at Soldier Field, World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin suggested that a future Six Nations match could be played in the United States as part of the long runway to the men’s Rugby World Cup in 2031 and the women’s event in 2033.
It was framed as possibility rather than plan, and there has been no decision from Six Nations Rugby or the unions. But the trial balloon is in the air.
The immovable object meets a movable feast
The Six Nations’ power is scarcity and place. Its fixtures fund the unions, its rhythms anchor winter broadcast schedules, and its mystique is stitched into the idea that Paris means Paris, not a pop-up field 4,000 miles away.
There has never been a Six Nations match staged outside Europe. Changing that would require agreement from six unions and a broadcast ecosystem increasingly shaped by private capital after CVC bought into the championship. Tradition alone is not a veto, but it is a real cost centre.
World Rugby’s counter-argument is time-bound and commercial. In Chicago, the governing body confirmed that 27 cities and areas in North America have formally entered the applicant phase to host 2031 World Cup matches. Shortlists will harden through 2026.
“The enthusiastic response from across the US has been extraordinary. These cities and areas represent not only iconic sports destinations but also new, emerging, and existing rugby communities,” siad Gilpin.
“Their commitment underscores the opportunity Men’s Rugby World Cup 2031 presents to cement the United States’ status as a major player in global rugby, but also to inspire and unite new fans, audiences, and commercial partners for the sport more broadly to deliver lasting impact.”
The story World Rugby wants to tell across those markets is that rugby is arriving, and the world is coming with it. A marquee Six Nations night in a US stadium would fit neatly into that narrative.
The American rugby reality, in numbers and nuance
Chicago arguably was the right backdrop for this conversation. Soldier Field is where Ireland shocked New Zealand in 2016 and where the “rematch” returned on November 1, 2025. The buzz was real. The rugby was not always. Ireland lost, and coverage in Ireland and the US underlined how hard it still is to make union feel like a must-see in America.
Former international Bernard Jackman called the occasion a “damp squib” in terms of market cut-through. The Irish Independent detailed operational snags in the match-day experience, from queues to basics like lyrics on the big screen. Those are practicalities, but they matter when a sport is still earning its audience.
On the growth side, sevens is doing a lot of heavy lifting. The revamped HSBC SVNS put its title finale in Los Angeles in May 2025, positioning sevens as festival sport and as a runway to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics (LA28). World Rugby has trumpeted record global attendance across the circuit in the Olympic year, and reports from the LA weekend point to momentum and improved crowds.
The domestic Major League Rugby picture is more fragile. After years of building, this off-season saw NOLA Gold and Miami Sharks announce they will not compete in 2026, while Houston SaberCats – 2025 finalists with their own rugby-specific stadium – also withdrew for 2026, citing sustainability issues.
A San Diego–Los Angeles merger reshaped the California market. Reuters reported that the league intends to continue, but the volatility is obvious. For a World Cup host nation, that is an optics and pathways problem.
So, would moving a Six Nations game help?
There is a rational commercial case. A single, diaspora-anchored Six Nations fixture in a US city would create a headline moment for broadcasters, sponsors and local organisers who are currently pitching to be among those 27 host areas in 2031. It would advertise the product at full noise and prime the market for the Nations Championship era. That is the theory.
But there are three grounded caveats.
First, the unions’ balance sheets. A home Six Nations date is among the most dependable revenue lines in European sport. The IRFU, for example, has already indicated it wants more annual US games, yet it has been explicit that home Six Nations fixtures will not be exported because they are too valuable. That stance is likely to be echoed elsewhere.
Second, competitive and cultural integrity. The Six Nations works because fans can bank on its geography and because travel burdens are known quantities. Moving a round to the US introduces fairness questions and disrupts the away-day culture that has made the tournament a tourism engine for European cities since 1883.
Third, signal versus system.Chicago’s mixed reviews last weekend, and the MLR turbulence, suggest that while splash events create spikes, the conversion depends on week-to-week infrastructure. Without stronger clubs, clearer pathways and predictable scheduling, a one-off blockbuster can be a sugar hit rather than a habit.
What “not forcing it” could look like
There is a middle path taking shape that does not rearrange the Six Nations.
The IRFU says it intends to play a test in the US every year through to 2031. World Rugby, for its part, is keeping America front-and-centre with the 2031 host-city race, a busy US test calendar that has already brought fixtures like England vs USA in Washington DC this summer, and a sevens finale in Los Angeles ahead of the Olympics.
That is a coherent runway that builds familiarity without removing a crown-jewel home date from Dublin, London, Paris, Cardiff, Edinburgh or Rome.
