The success model of the Fijian Drua’s participation in the Super Rugby Pacific competition is now adopted by World Rugby in its bid to lift the standard of rugby in the United States of America (USA).

And the man who is driving this is former All Blacks and Manu Samoa star centre Alama Ieremia.

He is also the back and attack coach of the USA national rugby team that faces the Flying Fijians in Saturday’s Pacific Nations Cup semi-final in Tokyo, Japan. The match kicks-off at 10.05pm.

Ieremaia has taken over as the head coach of the Anthem Rugby Carolina franchise club in the American Major League Rugby (MLR) competition.

The team was announced early this year in partnership with World Rugby- who is partially funding the team to get off the ground in Charlotte.

“It’s a push to really drive pathways for American players and eligible players to then lead on to the Eagles,” said Ieremia the former Hurricanes and Manu Samoa head coach.

“I’ve got a lot of the academy players which I am passionate about bringing through.

“The team will have a specific focus on developing young American players based on the Fijian Drua model in Super Rugby.”

In a statement World Rugby said the new team will “greatly accelerate that high-performance objective by supporting the long-term goals of the USA men’s national team in advance of qualification for Rugby World Cup 2027 (in Australia) and hosting the 2031 edition on home soil”.

“This type of partnership has proven successful for Rugby World Cup 2023 quarter-finallists Fiji with the establishment of the Drua, and we are excited about the huge potential of Anthem RC, not just as a pathway but as a major franchise within a long-term vision for MLR success.”

Another thing USA Rugby is doing to better prepare for their hosting duties is a global recruitment drive for eligible US players.

Ieremia has already approached a few New Zealand based- players who would have the required paperwork to represent the Eagles in the future.

“We’re definitely casting the net to say, hey we’re out here now if you’re keen and have any American blood,” said Ieremia.

But bringing eligible players to play in the USA and prepare them for a potential international debut, is still very much in the developmental stages according to USA Eagles head coach, Scott Lawrence.

“Do we look at that type of player, yes, but they have to have a strong desire to play for the USA,” said Lawrence.

“They have to really want to do it, especially when they want to play for the USA which is an affair of the heart, not the wallet.”

After failing to qualify for last year’s World Cup in France, the focus is on 2027 and 2031, when they’ll host the RWC for the first time on the American continent.

“In 1962 JFK (former USA President John F Kennedy) said we’d go to the moon and seven years later we did that, seven years from now we have a World Cup and we will be in a quart-final.

“That’s our moon shot, that’s what we’re going to do,” said Lawrence.

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