World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin spent some days in the USA recently talking with the USA Rugby World Cup bid group and USA Rugby in a series of talks dubbed The Exclusive Targeted Dialogue.

Gilpin toured the Denver Broncos' stadium—Empower Field at Mile High— and while there's no connection to that tour and today's fire at the stadium, maybe some sparks of a positive nature flew.

The plan for the Rugby World Cup in the USA is now to host the 2031 Men's World Cup anf the 2033 Women's World Cup. The original idea had been to run the smaller women's event first, in 2029. There are reasons for the move and they were touched on during a roundtable held Thursday, March 24  between various stakeholders and members of the media. Here are some highlights from that roundtable.

The Move to 2031 and 2033

The original plan, as outlined by USA Rugby Bid Committee Chair Jim Brown, was to host the women's event in 2029 and the men's event in 2031. The smaller women's event would then be a way to make sure any speedbumps or errors could be ironed out for the larger event. Even though Brown's vision of the Women's Rugby World Cup included large stadiums and big crowds, it would still have been a middle step. Not now. GRR asked Gilpin about that and he said essentially that World Rugby wanted to map out as many World Cup hosting sites as possible. With a plan for the USA in 2031 and 2033 they would have 2021 (still to be played) through 2033 mapped out.

In addition, Gilpin stressed World Rugby's new hosting partnership plan, which takes a lot of the financial risk away from the host nation and also ensures that the host nation will share in financial success as well as success in terms of growing the game. It's a partnership, said Gilpin, and that means speedbumps and errors will be better anticipated.

Brown added that there is precedence for a men's World Cup to grow interest in a sport and then power a women's World Cup following. He pointed to the 1994 FIFA Men's World Cup in the USA and the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, also in the USA. Those events drove participation, but especially for women and girls. Growth potential in rugby, added Gilpin, is much higher for women and girls, and so rather than using the women's event as a test lab, they would be using the men's event as a launching pad.

And finally, with the USA hosting the 2028 Olympics, there's less glut of major events. Rugby could well get a boost from 

Politics, Government, and Bigwigs

Already there has been a Congressional Resolution passed in support of the World Cup bid. But there actually needs to be more government support. According to Brown, the US Government will have to commit to fast-tracking visas for athletes and coaches, will need to make commitments regarding taxation and clearing away red tape, and will need to commit to security measures, especially when it comes to visiting foreign dignitaries and event heads of state.

Brown said they have received those assurances and he has been in contact with the White House  about all of that. A formal letter of support from the Biden Administration to World Rugby is expected soon.

This, of course, is the big leagues.

It's Big, Really Big

About 28 host cities have expressed interest and about 30 venues have expressed interest in being part of the Rugby World Cup in the USA. The overall budget, said Brown, is expected to be around $500 million for the two events. But as Gilpin stressed repeatedly, there's a new partnership-focused approach to hosting. GRR asked Gilpin about how having a US-based World Cup on the horizon would improve World Rugby's ability to leverage sponsorships, and he said it would, undoubtedly. And, he added, that's a good thing for USA Rugby.

"In the plan we have there's less uncertainty, and less risk-taking," he said. "We're not asking the host nation to take on all that risk. And World Rugby would commit to underwrite the cost as we go forward; we've got a plan to provide funding as they need it."

Essentially that means that World Rugby would expect increased sponsorship interest in the 2020s, and that money would, in part, be used to help front the USA Rugby World Cup effort as they work with their partners and build the event.

So, It's a Done Deal, Right?

GRR asked the panel about the term "The Exclusive Targeted Dialogue" and whether that was something like the opposite of Double-Secret Probation and really meant the USA bid has been approved. The answer was ... kind of. Officially May 12 is the date when this bid will get the thumbs up or thumbs down. But, unlike previous bid processes where multiple countries are in the running, for 2031 and 2033, USA is the only host nation being considered. So it's not us or them, it's more pass or fail. This Exclusive Targeted Dialogue really means World Rugby is saying "we want you, we need you, and there's even a way we'll love you; let's talk details and how you're going to do it and how we'll help and let's see if you guys have your heads on straight."

Gilpin exuded confidence. Brown seemed confident. USA Rugby Ross Young, who was happy to be a bit more in the background (along with Emilie Bydwell, representing the High Performance side of things), seemed relaxed. Young talked about there being a plan, and an anchor to the plan. But the indications are that the USA will be the host nation for the men's Rugby World Cup in 2031 and the women's Rugby World Cup in 2033.