Clarke expects more stars to head Stateside
ALLEN Clarke believes cost cutting in the Gallagher Premiership will lead to more English players leaving for America.
With the Premiership salary cap having dropped to £5m for the short-term it has left nearly 100 players without a club for next season.
Former England internationals Ben Foden and Chris Robshaw have plied their trades Stateside but a move to Major League Rugby (MLR) is not as welltrodden a path for English players as France or Japan.
But former Ireland hooker Clarke, who is now head coach of Seattle Seawolves, is expecting more English players to move to the MLR.
“As a result of the cost cutting that has gone in the Premiership in particular, I think there’ll be a lot more English players venturing towards America,” he said.
“The situation with the salary cap in the Premiership could lead to more of them considering the MLR as a serious option to further their careers. We’ve got players from South Africa, Samoa, New Zealand, Ireland, and the UK playing in the MLR, so it is very diverse.
“You get to travel all around the country which can be challenging but is a wonderful experience. The game is growing, and there’s a real excitement about the game of rugby union in the US.
“The standard of play is getting higher so it is turning into a more attractive proposition every year for players from the UK.”
Clarke, who was previously head coach of the Ospreys, is optimistic about the future of the game in the US despite their defeat to Chile last week in their America World Cup qualifier.
With the USA hosting the World Cup in 2031 Clarke insists the tournament can be as successful as Japan 2019.
“There’s that potential otherwise World Rugby wouldn’t have given them the World Cup,” he said.
“It’s within the interests of the game to grow it in the USA if they want to truly make it a global game. However, there is work to do in connecting the grass roots to schools and clubs, then to adult clubs, and the professional game with governance from the USA.
“There’s a lot of work to be done to make the USA competitive at Test level. What they have got in their favour is they can bring athletes over from American Football.
“Cross-over athletes from America Football are very coachable. You tell them something once and they get it right.
“Foot patterns and getting your role right is ingrained in American Football players. Players like that can definitely transfer into rugby union which will make US rugby stronger in the long run.”