Mark McCafferty: American dream starts here for the Premiership

Clearly an exciting development for the Premiership?
Yes, we’ve been intent on trying to build the US market for a few years and so this is the culmination of the beginning, if that is not too much of a contradiction.
It is part of a longer term strategy to try to waken US interest in the game. We are obviously not the only ones doing that, there are the efforts of the Eagles themselves with various games taking place in the States in the course of the last few years.
I understand it has been in the pipeline for a couple of years?
All the advice we were getting was to put a proper match on, something that matters. Given the amount of top level sport there is in the States, you’ve got to cross that bridge eventually from a friendly to four or five points being at stake.
Obviously that makes it much more complex: there are broadcasters’ needs to deal with; sponsors needs; tickets holders etc. It takes a lot of work to get to the point where we can do it – but we are there and just a few days away from it now.
Why London Irish v Saracens?
Well, the time of the year works out. Talking with various partners in the States, this seemed to be the right time, given other sports’ activities in the States.
We thought London Irish, naturally, on the East Coast and they felt there was an opportunity to build their brand. It’s their home fixture and, with Saracens being the reigning champions, it was a good mix. And Saracens have got one or two US players so there were hooks that made promotional sense.
Clubs meeting the cost or is it a co-venture?
We’re working with The Legacy Agency, who have promoted Eagles games – recently against the All Blacks and in November against Ireland.
They’re taking much of the financial risk so we will build this over two or three years with them initially and see where we are then.
Scheduling against Six Nations – unavoidable due to the St Patrick’s Day link?
You can’t run before you can walk, and getting the fixture on is the first step. Events like the London double-header, and even the Premiership final, take a few years to build up. This one seemed to fit around St Patrick’s Day and, yes, that happens to fall in the Six Nations but we still felt that it was the right time.
The other option was whether to do it more towards the start of the season, September-October – that is a possibility we may look at in future years.

Could this be a regular feature of the Premiership calendar – different teams in different countries?
Not different countries, we’ll definitely stick with the States. Initially we will go for a three year period, and probably after next year’s event we will assess where we are and if we are in a position to prolong that.
It is a gradual build, you have seen with the NFL games coming over to London that they are beginning to expand but there were several years where they did just one game.
What do Premiership Rugby hope to gain from this?
The Red Bull Arena is a 25,000 capacity stadium and if we get to somewhere near 12,500, and we are on track for that, then I think we would regard that as a really good first step, particularly when you bear in mind that the last couple of seasons’ London Irish v Saracens match would be somewhere between 6,500 and 9,000.
They can do promotional work of their own in New York and come away thinking it’s been a good step forward for the league. Pulling that off behind will be significant and part of the success.
The other two points are the community side, partnering particularly with the British Council the grassroots stuff is a big part of this, and secondly building a relationship on the US broadcast side as well, we’ve got ambitions for Premiership coverage on US TV.
Existing deal?
That comes to a close shortly and we are in the process of putting plans together and bringing them to a conclusion on the broadcast side. We would hope to be getting to the end of that fairly soon and that would kick in at the start of the 2016-17 season. This type of event helps with that, too.

Any negative feedback from UK fans and what is your message to those who don’t agree with moving the fixture?
Obviously we respect that and London Irish have been working even before this season to communicate that correctly to supporters. Inevitably there is that reaction sometimes when you do that sort of thing but also it is in the interest of those supporters that London Irish starts to build the brand.
Obviously there has been a change of ownership and management there and they’ve got to try and cement their home base but also try to develop it as a more international brand. They can’t just confine it any more to a home market, it’s about striking the right balance.
I understand Quins are branching out to the West Coast, Saracens also have ties in US. This is clearly a market the clubs see as a benefit. Are you driving it or the clubs?
Both really. The clubs are doing things independently on the ground and it makes sense for them to do that and we help where we can on that front.
Where we concentrate is on things like the broadcast agenda so our international TV coverage, which is very important in this context, appeals more to international sponsors and brings wealth and exposure into the league.
What about USA Rugby where former England captain Nigel Melville is CEO?
Nigel has been working with us and providing support and we’re very thankful.
Everybody feels there is a real opportunity, it might take 10, 15, 20 years but we should all be building towards it. It’s the world’s biggest commercial market and also has a huge pool of athletic talent, but you’re up against the NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball.
But the Americans love contact sports and, with the Eagles and the women’s team competing in the Rio Olympics, it is an ideal time to put those building blocks in place.
*For the first time, an Aviva Premiership match is being played in the USA. London Irish play Saracens at the Red Bull Arena in New York on Saturday 12^th March at 19:30, exclusively live on BT Sport 1. BT Sport is the only place to watch top live matches from the Aviva Premiership, European Rugby Champions Cup and European Rugby Challenge Cup.