Rugby gone nuts -- nah, just a little turmoil

Given all the toing and froing over the staging of next year's Rugby World Cup, one could be forgiven for thinking that maybe the rugby world has gone a bit nuts. Of course it hasn't, but there certainly has been some turmoil of late.

The problem is that the brouhaha over whether or not New Zealand will co-host the big dance has grabbed all the headlines, meaning there's a lot of other stuff going on that you might have glossed over as you've waded through the ton of material written about the RWC.

For instance, England is trying to get back on track after its upset loss to France in the Six Nations Championship and has recalled Matt Dawson to the squad for the Wales game, Saracens hooker Robbie Russell has had his bogus yellow card offence wiped from the records, and we're down to the final two in the Powergen Cup.

So yeah, there's plenty of other stuff going on in the UK.

Here in the States, we've also been keeping our eyes on the progress of our homegrown talent plying their trade in England and Wales. There are seven guys doing their bit for club and country on the other side of the pond.

Dave Hodges (Llanelli), Luke Gross (Llanelli), Dan Lyle (Bath), Kevin Dalzell (Bath), Link Wilfley (Rotherham), Jason Keyter (Rotherham) and the latest signing, Dan Dorsey (Bath) are all over there flying the flag as it were.

So you see, while America might still be considered by some to be a rugby outpost, there must be something good going on over here, or those guys wouldn't be over there, if you know what I mean.

Something else that falls into that category is the USA Rugby Super League. You may not be familiar with RSL, but it's the premier competition in this country and the 2002 season is now upon us.

This year it has been expanded to seventeen teams, split into three conferences. The League began in 1997 aiming to provide top class rugby week in and week out. It spans this vast country from coast to coast and all the Americans in the UK have played in the League at some time or other.

And there are players from many other parts of the world playing in the League too, giving it a real international flavor. So, if you're tired of the same ole same ole, point your mouse in the direction of the USA and check it out, you might be surprised at what you find.