World Rugby Floats US Six Nations Match as England Protects Twickenham Revenue

World Rugby is exploring the possibility of staging a Six Nations match in the United States and has offered financial incentives to participating unions, according to reporting by The Guardian. England has effectively ruled itself out because of the financial importance of home championship games at Twickenham, while an Ireland-Italy fixture has been raised only as a potential option.

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The initiative is part of an effort to expand rugby's profile in the United States before the country hosts the men's Rugby World Cup in 2031. No Six Nations match has been confirmed for the US, and the report did not identify a season or venue for such a fixture.

England's position reflects the scale of its home-match income. The Guardian reported that England can generate about £10 million from a Six Nations game at Twickenham and that men's matches at the stadium account for roughly 85 percent of the Rugby Football Union's revenue. Insiders therefore regard an England home fixture moving overseas as very unlikely, with the stadium's naming-rights agreement and obligations to debenture holders also factors.

World Rugby has floated Ireland against Italy as one possible matchup because both countries have expatriate communities on the US east coast, the report said. Even if two unions wanted to proceed, the Six Nations committee and tournament broadcasters would also need to approve the move. Those requirements leave the proposal at an exploratory stage rather than a settled addition to the schedule.

The governing body's recent efforts to build the American market have included other major fixtures. England played the United States in Washington in 2025, while Ireland met New Zealand in Chicago later that year. The Guardian also reported that a plan for the British and Irish Lions to stop in Las Vegas on their way to Australia in 2025 did not succeed, and that the 2030 Nations Championship finals weekend is slated for the US.

World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin told The Telegraph that the economics of the South Africa-New Zealand Test in Baltimore were comparable to a Six Nations match. He said that example showed unions could consider working with World Rugby to stage major games in the US without necessarily accepting worse financial returns. For now, however, the Six Nations idea remains dependent on union interest and multiple layers of approval.