Background Games related to
rugby football (now
rugby union) were played in the United States in the early 19th century. During this time the sports had no fixed rules, and were particularly popular in universities and
college preparatory schools in the Northeastern United States. The sport of
American football evolved from these intercollegiate games. Meanwhile, in
Huddersfield, England a schism developed in rugby football between those who favored strict amateurism and those who felt that players should be compensated for time taken off work to play rugby. Many
Northern English industrial towns tended to be poorer, the working class players often working in industries that had long hours of manual labour for which they would not get paid for time off. Amateur status for players in these towns was therefore not just financially difficult, but also physically demanding due to the nature of their work. In 1895 this resulted in the formation of a break-away professional sport,
rugby league, the rules of the two codes of rugby (
union and league) would themselves diverge. The bulk of the clubs conforming to the new sport consisted of Northern English towns. Whilst the new form of rugby was taken to countries such as New Zealand, Australia, and France, American rugby continued to be played solely under rugby union rules. The sport was eclipsed by American football and was confined to California by the time of the 1920 Olympics. In 1939, the Californian Rugby Football Union wrote to the governing body of rugby league, the
Rugby Football League, to tell them they wanted to switch from
rugby union and affiliate to the RFL. In June 1939, the RFL made plans to send a delegation out to California but were unable to do so due to the outbreak of
World War II.
1950s and 60s: Introduction One of the earliest attempts to introduce rugby league to the United States was in 1953, when Mike Dimitro, a
wrestling promoter and former UCLA football all star and NFL Rams player (
1947 draft), was asked to organize a tour of
Australasia by an American rugby league side. The team was given a huge schedule that included 26 matches against Australian and New Zealand sides. None of the 22 American players had ever played rugby league prior to the tour, and they presented themselves in
American football-like attire early on in the tournament. The side won only six games as well as drawing two. Their second match of the tour, against a Sydney side, drew a crowd of 65,453 to the
Sydney Cricket Ground. After a consistent lack of competition, crowds were good but never reached the same heights. In turn, the tour did not bring any benefits to American rugby league, but Mike Dimitro did not give up, he was able to organize two exhibitions against Australia and New Zealand in California that did not turn out to be a big success. An American side also made a short tour of France in early 1954, including a match against the France national team in Paris. France beat the United States 31–0. Mike Dimitro was still optimistic of developing the game in the United States, but his bid to host a
Rugby League World Cup in the 1960s failed.
1970s to 90s: Attempts to organize the sport In the 1970s former American football player Mike Mayer founded the United States Rugby League with the intention of forming the country's first professional rugby league competition. Between 1976 and 1978, Mayer secured franchising rights from the British
Rugby Football League and attempted to attract funding from British and Australian promoters to help establish a twelve-team professional competition. The proposed league would have chiefly relied on attracting American football players who could not make it in the
National Football League. In 1987 the Australian state teams of
Queensland and
New South Wales played a fourth exhibition match following the three
1987 State of Origin series matches in
Long Beach, California. The result of this match was not to be included in official statistics, but in recent years the
New South Wales Rugby League and media organizations based in that state have added the win to their tally. Promoters claimed the match drew 10,000 spectators, but detractors said it drew only about 7,000 and was not a financial success. Meanwhile, Mayer had continued to promote rugby league. His efforts resulted in establishing a
national team to play a match against
Canada in 1987; this would be the U.S.' first international match since the 1950s. The following year he was involved in promoting an exhibition game between the English teams the
Wigan Warriors and the
Warrington Wolves at
County Stadium in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1991
Rugby World TV promoter John F. Morgan of Lake Placid, NY was petitioned by Rugby League Australia to bring a U.S. team to the
Sydney 7s and in 1993 Morgan created the American Patriots who became a novel hit at the event. Morgan also acquired the TV rights to ARL competitions and aired them on his
Rugby World TV program from 1991 to 1995. He also attempted to launch League in the U.S. and convinced the RFL to send an Ireland Team to the U.S. for St. Patrick's Day matches in 1995 and 1996. The games were staged at
RFK Stadium and televised live by
ESPN2 in 1995 and delayed in 1996. In 1992 former
St George Dragons player
David Niu moved to
Philadelphia and began to introduce rugby league to the
Glen Mills Schools, where he was employed as a teacher. Soon after, he was contacted by Morgan and they set about building a U.S. national team with Niu as player coach to compete in international tournaments for the first time. Morgan also hosted a few U.S.-Canada matches and a U.S.-Russia match at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco in 1996. Niu took over for Morgan after the 96 season. Under Niu's leadership the United States competed in the
Super League World Nines (1996, 1997),
Rugby League Emerging Nations Tournament (
2000 and Victory Cup (2003, 2004) competitions.
1997–2011: Formation of Super League America, the country's first governing body In the mid-1990s, rugby league promoters including Australian-American Niu worked to promote the game domestically, and in 1997 the first rugby league organizing body,
Super League America (later renamed America National Rugby League (AMNRL)), was formed, with Niu as its head. Super League America was recognized as the official governing body for the sport by the
Rugby League International Federation, and was in charge of organizing the national team and establishing a domestic competition. The domestic competition kicked off in 1998 and was contested by six team; the
Glen Mills Bulls (later the Aston Bulls), the
New Jersey Sharks (later the
Bucks County Sharks), the
New York Broncos (later the
New York Knights), the
Philadelphia Bulldogs (now the
Philadelphia Fight), the Boston Storm, and the Pennsylvania Raiders, with Glen Mills winning the inaugural championship. Boston and Pennsylvania later dropped out of the league, while the remaining four teams continued to play under the guidance of Super League America. In 2000, Super League America announced a reorganization; the league headquarters were moved to
Jacksonville, Florida, with Jacksonville-based marketing executive Steve Gormley serving as the organization's new president. The USRL was successful in entering the U.S. national team into the
Rugby League World Cup qualification process for the first time, as they participated unsuccessfully in the
2000 Rugby League World Cup qualifying tournament. However, a dispute involving the British
Rugby Football League led to financial difficulties and internal strife within the USRL. Florida has hosted
rugby league games in the past, the state was the host to 1999 North Pacific Qualification Tournament, where the U.S. beat both
Japan and
Canada to meet
Lebanon for the right to play in the
2000 Rugby League World Cup.
Orlando's
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex hosted the Tomahawks's test against
England, for the latter's 2000 World Cup warm up game. It ended 110–0 to the away team. In 2001, Florida was also host to the Sunshine State Challenge, where the
United States competed against
Huddersfield,
Halifax and
Leeds, the miniature tournament drew a crowd of 6,700. In 2005, an exhibition match was played in
Phoenix, Arizona, to help promote
rugby league outside the heartland. Plans were announced to start a west coast competition called the WAMNRL in Summer 2011. In 2006, a new team joined the
AMNRL from Boston, which played an exhibition match in 2005. Teams from
New Haven (Connecticut) and
Jacksonville (Florida) also joined the 2006 competition. A Chicago team is also going through various stages of development with possible inclusion in the USARL in the future. 2006 saw further expansion as the league added a first Southern club in
Jacksonville Axemen, while further Northeastern clubs were added in New Haven Warriors, and the Boston Braves. The
Fairfax Eagles joined the competition in 2007, and the
Boston Thirteens joined in 2009. Another founder member, the
Bucks County Sharks, suspended operations in 2010, while the
Pittsburgh Vipers were added. In 2009, a new professional rugby league competition, the
National Rugby League USA (NRLUS), was announced. The new league was to include administrators and talent from the AMNRL, and was intended to begin play in 2010. However, the league had not gotten off the ground, and officials announced their hopes that play would begin in 2011, citing the
late 2000s recession as a factor in the league's lack of progress. In November 2010 the U.S. announced a strategic plan to grow the sport in the country with grass roots development, expansion and world cup qualification in sight.
2011–14: USARL schism The start of 2011 saw a schism in American rugby league, with seven sides leaving the
AMNRL to form a new competition, the
USA Rugby League. The departing clubs cited a lack of club input and stability in the administration of the AMNRL as the main reason for forming the new competition. The departing clubs were
New Haven Warriors,
Jacksonville Axemen,
Philadelphia Fight,
Boston Thirteens,
Pittsburgh Sledgehammers,
Washington DC Slayers and
Fairfax Eagles. The New Jersey Turnpike Titans and
Rhode Island Rebellion were new teams that came into being as a result of the USA Rugby League's formation and served as founding clubs to the new competition. In retribution, the AMNRL used its position as the
RLIF sanctioned U.S. body to overlook any USARL affiliated players from selection for U.S. national representative football. This enticed several players to abandon their local USARL club in the hope of representing the national team, such as
Apple Pope. 2011 saw the creation of the American Youth Rugby League Association. The sole concern of AYRLA is introducing the sport to American youth. Since 2011, the American Youth Rugby League Association has created and administered summer camps and clinics in addition to a Middle School Flag Competition, A U23 Tackle Competition, A Training School Program (youth prison), a U23 Representative Side dubbed the 'AYRLA Americans', and a High School Competition. Also AYRLA has created coaching courses that are geared for Americans and American youth. The American Youth Rugby League Association is responsible for the first American in history to be brought through a rugby league youth development program to play for a first grade side. In 2012, the AMNRL reached a partnership agreement with Grand Prix Rugby to broadcast and finance the sport within the United States, in the lead up to the
2013 Rugby League World Cup.
2014–present: AMNRL collapse and USARL control During this period, the USARL looked to consolidate its domestic competition while the AMNRL struggled domestically, with only New York Knights and Connecticut Wildcats maintaining regular competition under the AMNRL banner. In 2014, the USARL announced the formation of a Southern conference, with the
Atlanta Rhinos and
Central Florida Warriors among participating teams, while the
Brooklyn Kings RLFC joined the Northeastern conference. Meanwhile, the AMNRL competition failed to materialize in 2014 and, following the end of David Niu's long association with the sport, the AMNRL ceded their RLIF membership and folded as an organization, with the USARL being accepted as the sole governing body for the sport in November 2014 and the few remaining AMNRL teams being accepted into the USARL competition. In 2016, the U.S. was awarded the
2025 Rugby League World Cup along with co-host, neighbors
Canada. However, plans for the World Cup to be held in the U.S. and Canada were scrapped on December 4, 2018, due to financial concerns and that the location of the 2025 Rugby League World Cup would be determined by a new bidding process in 2019. Current expansion franchises as of the 2020s include the
Chicago Stockyarders and
Cleveland Rugby League. The USARL as of 2021 plans to expand in all formats of the game such as
Wheelchair rugby league,
Masters Rugby League and
Women's rugby league. In 2021, a break-away competition was formed, the
North American Rugby League (NARL). However, to date, only one match of the competition was ever played. In 2022, The Commission for Rugby League in the United States (USARLC) was established and claimed that it had the agreement of the
International Rugby League (IRL) to become the governing body for rugby league in the
United States. The IRL issued a statement refuting the claim made by USARLC, stating that the IRL had had no contact with USARLC and that USARL remained the sole IRL member in the United States. In August 2023, Australia's
National Rugby League competition signed a 5-year contract
to host matches at the
Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada every March. The inaugural
2024 season event saw a double-header with the
Sydney Roosters facing
Brisbane Broncos and
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles taking on
South Sydney Rabbitohs. In 2026, the USARL chairman has encouraged the National Rugby League to play matches in other parts of the USA such as California and Texas to further spread the sport of rugby league. Miami has been preferred as an option due to timezone advantage and rugby league having a strong grassroots system in place in Florida. ==National competitions==