New Zealand Rugby and the British & Irish Lions are in conversation about the possibility of hosting one of their 2029 tour matches in the United States.
While hosting games in countries other than the touring destination is not uncommon for the side from the north they have not played in the US. Las Vegas is one of the destinations, alongside Los Angeles and Chicago, being discussed for what will be a famous clash.
Aligns with Lions
The report from the Telegraph suggests that the fixture would align with the Lions’ requirements and makes sense in building excitement around the game ahead of the 2031 Rugby World Cup in the US.
“It would meet the Lions’ requirements from a performance point of view,” a source said. “There have been conversations around Vegas, Chicago and LA.
“We have talked about one game potentially outside of New Zealand. The tour will be different, but we’re not sure how much yet. We think there’s an opportunity to do something in another market on the way down to New Zealand. But it is five years away.”
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Rotation to stay
The same report suggests that there are no plans to remove the full tours to the three big southern nations: Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Some fans have called for Argentina to be added to the cycle, but current head coach Felipe Contepomi admits it is far away from happening. However, the Lions do face Los Pumas in Dublin before departing on their tour of Australia next year.
It is a fascinating tour in prospect with Andy Farrell in charge of the famous touring side. At the same time, the Wallabies are making small improvements under Joe Schmidt, who is still picking up the pieces from a short but chaotic Eddie Jones stint.
This weekend will offer a gauge of where the Wallabies are at as they face England at Twickenham.
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