Both Canada and the US have been competitive in global rugby for some time, but both countries suffer from the absence of a professional competition in a rugby world where professional We saw this in the World Cup where the absence of professional competition did impede the minnows in competition against the fully professional sides.
The game evolves. We now have the European national competition with fully pro teams in individual country leagues. In the Southern Hemisphere, the Rugby Championship has expanded to include Argentina, while next year's Super 18 includes teams from Argentina and Japan. The logistics including travel arrangements in this competition are simply mind-blowing. I'm not sure that they are sustainable.
In Europe, Georgia is pressing for involvement in the top level nation competition. Spain is attempting to build its strengths via the sevens, with sevens now included in the Olympics. If a professional league gets underway in North America, then that's another gap filled.
I don't know whether rugby will ever match soccer as a global game, but its reached the point now where it is a truly global game.
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