After the Wales vs South Africa shambles, can Sevens be the gateway to rugby union's American Dream?

Saturday's Washington 'test' proved to be a dud, but the United States' Sevens head coach Mike Friday explains why the Olympic format fits the America bill

The United States will host the Sevens World Cup three years after winning their first tournament (Getty)

If rugby union is to really take off in the United States, then the latest international ‘test’ to be taken across the Atlantic really needed to be a success. Sadly, Saturday’s shambles between Wales and South Africa was anything but.

The build-up to the contest in Washington DC was dominated by claims from Premiership Rugby that it shouldn’t be played as it was outside World Rugby’s official Test window, player withdrawals when the English top flight refused to release the likes of Luke Charteris and Josh Adams, an understrength Wales team against an understrength Springboks team and a promoter that failed to appropriately promote the match – a catalogue of errors by any stretch.

Add to that the poor broadcast feed supplied to Channel 4 on its rugby coverage debut and the incredibly low standard of play – particularly in the first half – and it’s no wonder why the sport is yet to crack America. The Premiership Rugby chief executive, Mark McCafferty, told The Independent last year that he hopes to bring American teams into the Anglo-Welsh Cup within a few years, but that competition doesn’t even exist anymore. Is the American Dream over?

Maybe not. At Twickenham this weekend the penultimate round of the World Rugby Sevens Series took place in gorgeous sunshine. Now Sevens is nothing new, with the series in its 19th season and heading towards its climax in Paris next weekend before the Rugby Sevens World Cup in San Francisco next month.

But it’s the version of the game where the US has enjoyed its most success yet. The women’s team have reached the semi-finals of the last two World Cups, while the men’s team won the London Sevens just three years ago. It’s fast, short and offers tier two sides and below the chance to star on the big stage.

For the US men’s sevens coach, Mike Friday, it’s exactly what the US audience needs to finally buy into the game. Combined with the sport’s presence at the Olympics, former England coach Friday believes that there are certain aspects of sport that result in success in America from the bottom up, and with San Francisco poised to host next month’s global gathering, all the ingredients are there to finally make a breakthrough.

“The game’s getting awareness, but the key is the Olympic picture,” Friday tells The Independent. “In America, if you can’t be a NFL player, a NBA player or a MLB player, if you can be an Olympian then not only to the athletic population that’s huge but also to the sporting eyeballs, the sporting landscape that watch sport, and they always want to follow their country because they’re patriotic in their winners.

“So I think Sevens is the key to unlocking the game in America, and if we can keep being successful and create role models in our team, then if ‘Little Jonny’ can’t be Tom Brady or Steph Curry then maybe they want to be Madison Hughes, Perry Baker, Carlin Isles or Danny Baker. That will allow us to position the game in the high schools, to compliment these ‘super sports’, and if we do that then we’ve got a shot at creating rugby players with rugby intelligence that are able to compete not only in the Sevens but in 15s.”

Friday believes that Sevens ticks all the boxes for the United States to buy into rugby (Getty)

There are still issues to be ironed out. For starters, the difference in squad strength remains an problem. Series leaders Fiji were able to call on Toulon wrecking balls Seme Radradra and Josua Tuisova for not just this leg but also the World Cup while Wales will be boosted by the presence of internationals Justin Tipuric and Hallam Amos, whereas England will head to America with their sevens specialists that have competed on the circuit throughout the season. Whether the specialists can put the same bums on seats as the world’s leading players is debatable, but even if they can, the success needs to be translated from Sevens to the 15-man game for the sport to really take off.

In its first season, Major League Rugby, the US’ first professional league, is helping to do that, along with taking domestic and international games across the pond. But having seen the rise of American rugby first hand, Friday admits that the breakthrough will only come from the very bottom of the pyramid.

“There’s a lot to do at grassroots level and you’re starting to see it take hold with Major League Rugby, but again the standard of player can range from a Premiership player down to a London South-East 1 player,” he adds.

“That’s embryonic, that’s learning, but again that’s another step forward and you’re starting to see on the channels as well the product with the Premiership coming over, the Top14, the Pro14, internationals, so the American public is starting to understand there is an alternative team sport and one that they can fall in love with, but Sevens ticks all the boxes for them – power, pace, hand-eye, physical collisions, evasive skills, fast-moving, and the games are played thick and fast and that’s the adrenaline rush that the American sporting public love – and it’s fun, but not if you’re a coach!”

There was nothing fun about Wales' narrow victory over South Africa in Washington (Getty)

The fun factor is perhaps the most important. At no point did Saturday night’s affair in Washington meet that demand, whereas Twickenham proved to be a bubbling cauldron of excitement for fans of all ages and all experiences. Fancy dress – despite the recent ban on organised themes to try and clear up the London leg’s image – the fans’ village, eye-catching rugby and supporters hailing from all over the world made it a weekend to enjoy. The same can be expected in San Francisco, but it’s what comes after that which will make the big difference.