“The USA is at the heart of World Rugby’s new strategic plan.” Word from World Rugby Chair Brett Robinson, who briefed a small group of journalists gathered in the Trust lounge at the Baltimore Ravens M&T Bank Stadium, ahead of the final Test match in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series.

“Our ambition for 2031,” Robinson continued, “is to ensure that the Rugby World Cup here in the US is the best we’ve ever delivered. Because it’s so important for our game to grow and fuel the sport.”

The decider between New Zealand and South Africa was the latest in a series of high-profile matches that World Rugby, in collaboration with the rugby world’s most powerful unions, have brought to American shores in recent years. The governing body has been intentional in its push to host major international events in the United States ever since it announced the US would host the 2031 and 2033 men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups. Since then, England, Scotland, New Zealand, Fiji, Ireland and South Africa have all played matches on American soil.

With just five years to go before the men’s tournament, the clock is ticking to make sure that Americans familiarize themselves with the sport, fall in love with it and tune in to what is the third-largest global sporting event behind the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics.

If the final Test between South Africa and New Zealand is anything to go by, the market is primed for take-off, albeit with a few caveats.

The Baltimore experience

The match in Baltimore was a near sell-out and the largest-ever crowd for a rugby match hosted in the United States, with 68,173 fans turning up.

According to New Zealand Rugby CEO Steve Lancaster, tickets were sold to fans in all 50 US states and all seven provinces in Canada, with 40,000 tickets immediately selling out on pre-sale when the venue was announced.

Roughly 10 per cent of tickets were sold locally. That’s almost the same number of tickets sold for a typical Major League Rugby championship match, evidence that there is some demand for rugby in the US, but plenty of room to grow more enthusiasm for the sport.

A sea of green and gold engulfed Baltimore in the days preceding the match and on game day M&T Bank Stadium was awash with Springboks and All Blacks colours, a change from the usual Ravens’ purple. Before kick-off, both sets of fans took to tailgating like ducks to water. Braais and kiwi pies were seen aplenty in the parking lots, as South Africans, Kiwis and Americans made the most of the new rugby setting.