press release - The National Rugby Football League

For immediate release
September 3, 2014
Contact :
Media Relations, National Rugby Football League
952-835-4364
[email protected]
nationalrugbyfootballleague.com
U.S.-Based Pro Rugby Initiative Announces New
Opportunity for American Football Athletes
The National Rugby Football League today announced a major event
that could benefit American football athletes recently released by
their professional teams as well as those who began their collegiate
seasons this past weekend. The startup rugby union XVs circuit will
hold a January combine in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for
the purpose of evaluating talent eligible for placement on rosters of
teams that could start play as early as the summer of 2015.
“America has so much elite football talent surplus that it would be
shameful not to utilize it,” said NRFL founder Michael A. Clements.
“In fact with this talent we can create a competitive major league
right now - no question. We began contacting those athletes and
their representatives immediately after this past week’s roster
cutdowns.”
NRFL personnel will conduct the combine January 12-15 at the Los
Angeles Memorial Coliseum, with an exact schedule of events to be
announced at a later date. The league is currently taking player
applications at nationalrugbyfootballeague.com.
“In addition to opening the eyes of football players to the
possibilities of RUXV, we hope to engage the American rugby
community as well,” said Clements. “More than 20 million
Americans currently express an interest in the sport and the U.S. has
already started to develop high-level players. We look forward to
welcoming some of the best domestic rugby performers to our
combine and league.”
The NRFL began its evaluation process with an April combine in
Minneapolis. Former USA and Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan,
currently head man at Biarritz, ran the on-field activities and the
NRFL expects to retain coaches of similar pedigree for January’s
event. In April, more than a hundred athletes, many with top-level
professional football experience, competed in drills and physical
evaluations. Holding the 2015 event in the Coliseum will enable the
league to accommodate more competitors and do so in a venue that
offers climatic consistency and an ongoing contact-sport tradition.
“The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is excited to host the NRFL’s
elite athletes in January,” said Coliseum General Manager Joe Furin.
“We very much look forward to an involvement now and in the
future with what could be America’s next major-league sport.”
In addition to appraising players for their own league, NRFL
executives will also open the combine to evaluators from
professional rugby team worldwide. The previous combine drew
representatives scouting for twelve European sides. Potential
placement with established clubs offers additional incentive for U.S.based athletes to attend.
Decisions have not yet been made about sessions open to the public,
but the NRFL does expect to generate media coverage, both
externally and through its own social media and NRFL Films arms.
Sponsorship opportunities are available for brands wishing to take
advantage of the attention likely to surround the event. The NRFL is
also in the process of evaluating potential investors for both the
league and remaining team franchises.
ABOUT THE NRFL
The National Rugby Football League is owned by RugbyLaw, LLC, a
Minneapolis/St.Paul-based corporation. It is leading the market in
the creation of a professional rugby union fifteens league in the
United States.

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