National Rugby Football League
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| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2014 |
| Inaugural season | TBD |
| No. of teams | TBD |
| Country | United States |
| Continent | North America |
| Official website | thenrfl.com |
National Rugby Football League (NRFL) is a potential startup professional rugby union league currently owned by RugbyLaw, LLC., a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based sports and entertainment company. RL currently is in the process of selling NRFL franchises within major cities which have NFL stadiums with the goal to begin the NRFL with six to twelve franchises in 2016.
The American investment group known as RugbyLaw is working to create the NRFL. That group includes founder Michael Clements, NFL talent scout Shawn Zobel, and former Major League Baseball pitcher, Jesse Orosco.
More than 130 players, including nearly 50 with NFL experience, participated in the NRFL's first combine held in Minneapolis in April 2014. The second combine took place January 12–15 in Los Angeles, California at the LA Memorial Coliseum. Most of the players being courted to participate are former professional athletes from the NFL, NBA, and NHL.
The inaugural NRFL game was to be held between a team called the NRFL Rough Riders, composed of athletes identified at the two combines and international elite players, and the Leicester Tigers of the English Premiership. It was to have taken place on August 8, 2015 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia; however, the NRFL failed to apply for USA Rugby sanctioning, and therefore the match was cancelled. Another potential game involving 2015 Premiership champion Saracens was slated to be played against the Crusaders, a New Zealand Super Rugby franchise, in New Orleans. This match was also scrapped by the NRFL, however, once again due to sanctioning reasons, as World Rugby didn't OK the turf playing surface at Mercedes-Benz Superdome
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