The Leicester Tigers will this summer take part in the first ever rugby match to involve a professional American elite team, when they take on the Rough Riders at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
The winner of the game will take home the inaugural Independence Cup, in a game that will kick-start America’s first professional rugby league, the NRFL. The Rough Riders are a diverse group, made up of the best of two American Football-style combines, former football players from both the NFL and college level, as well as some USA internationals.
“We are excited to showcase the inaugural Independence Cup at Lincoln Financial Field this summer,” said Eagles President Don Smolenski. “This match kicks off the first rugby game for an elite US team, the Rough Riders, against a historic rugby stalwart, the Leicester Tigers.”
Michael A. Clements, Founder & Managing Partner, RugbyLaw, LLC added, in the way only an American could: “The Independence Cup will truly be the rugby game heard around the world as America steps onto the pitch for the first time with professional ruggers to take on the creators and long-lived champions of the sport.
“The event is a real life Philadelphia Rocky story. The NRFL Rough Riders can be likened to Teddy Roosevelt’s cavalry who were men from many different states, countries and walks of life. They represent a ‘made in America’ heritage that will inaugurate the NRFL entering the global sport of elite pro rugby. How fitting to begin the next major league in the great, historic city of Philadelphia and at Lincoln Financial Field.”
Tigers CEO Simon Cohen added: “The name of Leicester Tigers travels across the world and we are delighted to have been invited to witness the appetite for the game in the USA first-hand. Rugby is making massive strides in America and the fixture against a team from the National Rugby Football League clubs will provide an excellent platform both for the home-based players and also our squad as they prepare for a new season.
“Sporting facilities and the pool of talent in so many sports in the USA are the envy of organisations across the world and it should prove a very interesting trip for the club.”
Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images
2 replies on “Leicester Tigers to make history in America”
Wait, so is it League or Union they’re playing? I assumed it’s Union if the Tigers are involved but why is it called the National Rugby Football League???
Because it’s a league? You can have a league of rugby union teams.