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February 5 - The France-USA Rugby Centennial, in partnership with National Collegiate Rugby (NCR), announces a men's collegiate tour scheduled for the summer of 2024. The tour celebrates the France-U.S. relationship honoring both the 80th Anniversary of D-Day and the 100th Anniversary of the last Olympic rugby match. The Centennial Group (R100), a not-for-profit association created to celebrate rugby history and support American-French rugby, will organize a series of matches between the NCR All-American team and several Academy-level French Teams as well as the world champion French military team.
The American team will face a French select-team in locations that illustrate the rich, common history between the two countries. The series locations include Hauts-de-France and Normandy, where the teams will mark the 80th anniversary of the U.S. military landing on D-Day and the start of Operation Overlord.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the unique, long-lived connections between France and the United States of America. Being part of the All-American team is one of the highest honors in American sport and sending the All-American team underscores the importance of this event,” stated NCR Vice Chairman Steven Hiatt.
The tour ends in Paris, where the teams will symbolically replay the 1924 Olympics championship game won by the Americans. Following the 1924 Olympics, rugby was discontinued in the Olympic games, leaving the Americans as champions for one hundred years. Final tour locations and dates will be announced in April.
French interest is expected to be high with the historical connection to the Olympics and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris soon after. Strong interest is also evidenced by the astonishing record breaking French viewership of 481 million viewing-hours at the recent 2023 Rugby World Cup.
“We are proud to renew with a centennial celebration the rugby connection between France and the USA, and to open a new chapter of this common history,” said R100 Founders Eric Flament and Gilles Teisseyre.
This tour, actively supported by the French Rugby Federation, aims to establish strong cooperation between French rugby and American rugby by showcasing collegiate rugby competitions in the lead-up to America hosting the men’s World Cup in 2031 and the women’s World Cup in 2033.
“I can’t think of a better way to bring back the Collegiate All-American team than celebrating the 100th anniversary of the France-US Olympic gold medal match and the D-Day 80th anniversary in Normandy,” added NCR CEO Jeremy Treece.
This event will be organized with the support of the American Chamber of Commerce in France (AmCham France), which is celebrating its 130th anniversary this year and will invite its French and American members to be among the pioneering companies that will support American rugby towards its first Rugby World Cup. Eglé de Richemont, General Manager of AmCham France, noted, “Engaging with The France-USA Rugby Centennial deeply resonates for AmCham France as we will be celebrating an important anniversary this year as well. With this partnership, AmCham France is proud to help bring together Sport, Business, and Historical Legacy a few weeks ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris.”
The U.S. boasts the largest population of collegiate rugby players in the world, ranging from highly competitive clubs to grassroots teams across the country. National Collegiate Rugby is responsible for 15s and 7s national championship pathways and provides its clubs with competition support and recognition programs. With college programs serving as an important pipeline for national teams, NCR also provides high-performance programs including All-Star teams and All-American recognition. The touring American team will be selected from available high performance college athletes. Every participant will be a member of both NCR and USA Rugby.
This tour follows the successful tour by the NCR-supported Atlantic Coast All-Stars (ACAS) who competed in the World University Rugby International Tournament last September in Bordeaux, France, during the Rugby World Cup. ACAS lost in the semifinal, finishing fourth overall at the World University Championship. The team was led by Northeastern University’s Edward Tubridy, Brown University’s Dave LaFlamme, Catholic University’s John Solomon, and NCR’s High-Performance Director Thomas Clark. The trip was managed by Brad Burns and Eric Graham. This fantastic group of coaches is excited to lead the All-American effort this coming summer. More information will come on staff and players soon. The US will be tasked with hosting the WURIT when the Rugby World Cup visits America in 2031.
About National Collegiate Rugby
National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) serves 16,000 players across 600 men’s and women’s college clubs in the United State . The teams compete in Division I, Division II and Division III, ranging from full varsity programs to grassroots clubs. With a singular focus on supporting and growing college rugby, NCR operates five national championship events including the men’s and women’s XVs National championships, National 7s, and the men’s and women’s national All Star tournaments. For more information, visit ncr.rugby.
NCR Media Contact:
Wade Smith
Chief Operating Officer
+1 310 614 2293
About France-USA Rugby Centennial
Rugby Centennial (R100) is a non profit organization created to revive and celebrate rugby history and cooperation between France and the USA.
R100 Media Contact:
Jules Teisseyre
Chief Operating Officer
Jules.Teisseyre@rugbycentennial.com
About AmCham-France
AmCham France was founded in 1894 to promote economic exchanges between France and the United States. AmCham France acts as a link between political, economic, and academic circles. Today, it brings together leading French and American companies, as well as numerous academic and economic partners committed to the transatlantic relationship.
Independent of any government and convinced that business has a crucial role to play in bringing new ideas to the forefront of public debate, the AmCham is a driving force behind proposals to respond to major societal, economic, and environmental challenges.
As such, AmCham France is committed to enhancing France's attractiveness.
AMCham Media Contact:
Axelle Roger
Communications Manager
+33 (0) 6 43 95 23 52
