USA Rugby benefits from Gold's decision to leave Worcester

Struggling Worcester Warriors have been plunged further into chaos by Gary Gold’s decision to leave the club for a new role as head coach of the USA national team. That is a real blow for the Warriors as the 50-year-old South African, who only joined in January, was instrumental in guiding them to Premiership safety last season. They are now bottom of the table following five consecutive defeats and will have to face up to life without their talismanic director of rugby. On the surface it looks like a bold move from Gold as rugby union is very much in the shadow of the NFL in the US and the national team is not exactly competitive.

Review Bet365 and find the best odds and you will see that the USA are all the way out at 1,000/1 to win the 2019 World Cup, while New Zealand are 11/10 and England are 7/2. If Gold’s USA team come up against one of the big boys they could take a real hiding and it would be pretty miserable for the coach. However, in many ways it represents a really exciting opportunity for Gold to be at the forefront of a real sporting revolution Stateside.

Rugby is probably the fastest growing sport in America and now has 115,000 registered players, up from 81,000 in 2010. When you actually analyse the figures, the USA has higher participation rates and thus a broader pool of players to choose from than really established and respected rugby playing nations, like Wales and Ireland. Penetration rates are far lower, but the sheer size of the country’s population makes up for that.

A third of the 115,000 active members at USA Rugby are college students, which points to its burgeoning popularity among the American youth. If its potential is unlocked, the USA could be frighteningly good at rugby. It has the raw materials: a large, sports-loving population that is naturally big and strong thanks to its wealth and diet, with the potential to create world-leading training facilities. Its love of NFL could be translated into rugby and it is not too difficult to imagine young athletes making the switch.

The problem is that elite rugby in the US is not up to scratch and that is where Gold can come in. Former All Blacks coach Al Mitchell has not quite been able to galvanise the nation, and results have not helped, but Gold has the personality to shake things up. He really could unlock a sleeping giant in world rugby if he sticks around long enough.

The sport’s popularity Stateside looks set to continue its upward curve. There were tens of thousands fans at a USA game against the All Blacks a couple of years ago, while 80,000 enthusiasts flocked to a recent sevens event in Las Vegas. San Francisco plays host to the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament and then it is the World Cup. The USA has qualified thanks to a strong aggregate win over Canada and has the chance to spring a few upsets. The future of US rugby is looking positive and it can capitalise on a decline in NFL viewing figures. The upcoming tournaments should spark interest at all levels and age groups and an improving USA team will be beneficial to the game.

And Gold gets the chance to pit his wits against the best in the world at the biggest tournament going in 2019, so you cannot begrudge him that. “We are naturally disappointed Gary will be leaving but we fully understand his desire to coach at an international level,” said Worcester chairman Bill Bolsover. Sadly for Worcestor fans, the outlook is not so positive and the club will try to work with Gold to secure as strong a replacement as possible to help turn around their fortunes.