LONDON, United Kingdom — The global governing body for rugby union, World Rugby, has reaffirmed that the United States will host the 2031 men’s Rugby World Cup, dismissing doubts about the sport’s current strength and commercial structure in the country.
The assurance came from World Rugby Chief Executive Officer Alan Gilpin, who said the decision to award the tournament to the United States remains unchanged despite recent concerns about the state of the game there. The United States men’s national rugby union team, known as the Eagles, is currently ranked 16th in the world and has never progressed beyond the group stage of a Rugby World Cup. In November 2025, the team suffered an 85–0 defeat to Scotland in a major international Test match, raising fresh questions about competitiveness.
In addition, the country’s top professional competition, Major League Rugby, has contracted to six teams after four clubs withdrew from the league. British media outlets have reported concerns about how the United States will meet the commercial demands of hosting a global tournament of this scale, which requires strong broadcast, sponsorship, and ticketing performance.
However, Gilpin made clear that the hosting rights remain secure. “It’s set in stone, it’s been set in stone since that decision of the World Rugby Council in May 2022,” he told reporters on Thursday following the annual Shape of the Game summit held in London, the capital of the United Kingdom.
“That’s not to say we don’t contingency plan, we contingency plan for everything as you’d expect.
“We’ve got an enormous number of host cities, of state sports commissions really excited about it and there’s fantastic engagement across the US.”
The United States is also scheduled to host the women’s Rugby World Cup in 2033, marking a significant period for rugby development in the country. World Rugby believes that staging back to back major tournaments could help expand the sport’s visibility in one of the world’s largest sports markets.
The comments were made after discussions at the Shape of the Game summit, where broader issues about rugby’s future were raised. Before the gathering in London, the French Rugby Federation and the authority overseeing France’s Top 14 domestic league expressed concerns about proposed law changes in the sport. They warned that certain reforms might weaken core elements of rugby’s identity, often referred to as its “DNA”.
Among the worries were suggestions that scrums and line outs could be reduced in importance to make matches simpler for new audiences.
Responding to those concerns, World Rugby Chairman Brett Robinson said the issue was not formally discussed during the summit.
“None of those issues were actually debated this week at all, they weren’t on the table to be discussed,” Robinson told reporters.
“In no way were there any discussions about the de-powering of the scrum.
“Resets in the scrum is one of the most frustrating things for fans, that dead time that we’re looking to try and take out of the game because it kills momentum and engagement with the fans.
“That’s probably where the conversations were.”
Okay News reports that World Rugby’s firm stance is intended to provide certainty to commercial partners, host cities, and national unions as preparations for the 2031 tournament continue. For the United States, successfully delivering the event could represent a turning point in efforts to grow rugby’s popularity and commercial base in a competitive sports landscape.
