US growth is reliant upon winning admits Chris Wyles

Chris Wyles knows qualification for the 2015 World Cup has given USA Eagles the best possible chance of breaking America but admits they must discover a winning formula to do so.
The Saracens full-back, who was born in Connecticut and grew up in Pennsylvania before moving to England age 11, helped the USA qualify for next year’s tournament by beating Uruguay over two legs last month.
Victory means the world’s third-largest population will have reason to follow the World Cup in England, with NBC boasting a potential audience in excess of 100 million, due to show live matches.
With Sevens set to make its Olympic debut in Rio in 2016, rugby has never enjoyed a better chance to grow the game in the US – both at grassroots level and in the mind of the average sports fan.
However, after almost tripping up against Uruguay by drawing the opening game 27-27 in Montevideo before winning the return game 32-13 in Georgia, Wyles admits his homeland will not warm to plucky losers.
The USA will face South Africa, Samoa, Scotland and the winner of next month’s Asia Five Nations (most likely Japan) in Pool B and Wyles, 30, believes the Eagles must start taking scalps.
“We get asked a lot how much the game is growing back home and it is growing but the World Cup gives us a great chance to reach a big audience,” said Wyles, whose side managed to beat only Russia in their last World Cup appearance.
“It can be difficult with the time difference but the World Cup and perhaps the Heineken Cup final will be on in the bars.
“It is a sports country and it has to fight for recognition with a lot of other sports. There are pockets of support and this is a great chance to grow that. It is a sport that an American audience does relate to – particularly with the contact nature of it.
“Ultimately though to be a popular team we need to be a winning team – that’s what US audiences are interested in. We need to be winning games; US sports fans support successful teams, if we can do that at the World Cup then the country will really take notice.”
Aside from the college scene, club rugby is still finding itself in the US. The Super League was superseded as the leading competition in 2013 by the short-lived Elite Cup, while the seven-team Pacific Rugby Premiership (PRP) is now in its first season.
The Super League, which began in 1997, folded in 2012 and the eight-team Elite Cup, which was split into two regions, lasted a solitary year after three of the four western members affiliated with the PRP.
Yet the game is not lacking in heritage in the US – presidents George W Bush and John F Kennedy played at Harvard, Bill Clinton at Oxford – and Premiership, Pro12, Heineken Cup, Top 14 and Six Nations matches can all be viewed on cable.
Indeed, the UK has enjoyed something of a US invasion with Wyles Sarries’ team-mate Hayden Smith, bulldozing Saint Samu Manoa, Wasps centre Andrew Suniula and Leicester wing Blaine Scully all featuring this season, while prop Eric Fry joins Newcastle next term.
And while Wyles welcomes the chance of the best US exports to play on the European stage – including speed demon Carlin Isles with Glasgow – domestic role models are also required.
“It’s great to see someone like Samu playing like he has this season and the interest he has generated,” added Wyles.
“Eric Fry is coming in and Blaine Scully has been great at Leicester; and with the All Blacks playing a Test in Chicago in November, it is building.
“It’s great for American players to get the chance to play on the biggest stages but at the same time we don’t want to neglect the national leagues and have all the best players leaving; they need to have players who can build interest as well. It’s important there’s a strong domestic game if it is to grow.”
PADDY VON BEHR