LONDON, United Kingdom — World Rugby has insisted that the United States will remain the host of the 2031 men’s Rugby World Cup, even as questions continue over the sport’s domestic stability and commercial readiness in the country.
The statement followed renewed scrutiny of the American rugby landscape. The United States national team is ranked 16th globally and has never reached the knockout phase of a Rugby World Cup. In its latest high profile international outing in November 2025, the team was beaten 85–0 by Scotland.
At the professional level, Major League Rugby has been reduced to six teams after four clubs exited the competition. Reports in British newspapers have suggested that there are uncertainties about how the United States will deliver a tournament of global scale from a financial and organisational standpoint.
Speaking after the Shape of the Game summit in London, World Rugby Chief Executive Officer Alan Gilpin dismissed suggestions that the hosting decision could be reconsidered.
“It’s set in stone, it’s been set in stone since that decision of the World Rugby Council in May 2022,” he said on Thursday.
“That’s not to say we don’t contingency plan, we contingency plan for everything as you’d expect.
“We’ve got an enormous number of host cities, of state sports commissions really excited about it and there’s fantastic engagement across the US.”
The United States is also due to stage the women’s Rugby World Cup in 2033, placing added importance on preparations over the coming years.
Concerns about the sport’s direction were also raised ahead of the London summit by the French Rugby Federation and the organisation that oversees the Top 14 league in France. They expressed fears that possible law changes could dilute traditional aspects of rugby, particularly scrums and line outs, in an effort to make the sport easier to follow.
World Rugby Chairman Brett Robinson said those specific matters were not formally debated at the summit.
“None of those issues were actually debated this week at all, they weren’t on the table to be discussed,” he stated.
“In no way were there any discussions about the de-powering of the scrum.
“Resets in the scrum is one of the most frustrating things for fans, that dead time that we’re looking to try and take out of the game because it kills momentum and engagement with the fans.
“That’s probably where the conversations were.”
Despite performance and structural challenges within American rugby, World Rugby has signalled that planning for 2031 will continue as scheduled, with organisers relying on strong engagement from host cities and sports authorities across the United States.