The organisers and coaches of America's new PRO Rugby league have drawn on Stuart Lancaster's help and expertise as professional union takes its first steps in the U.S..

The inaugural PRO Rugby season is five weeks old and former England coach Lancaster has played a key mentoring role in helping it get off the ground. "It was great to be involved and support the inception and planning of the new pro league," Lancaster told ESPN. "Doug Schoninger funded the league and I spoke to him a couple of times.

"I went across to San Diego and spent four days with him and the CEO Steve Lewis and the coaches who have been appointed to pass on my experiences of the evolution of the professional game in England and the things I learned as a player myself when the game went professional and [when I was] in charge of academies, at Yorkshire Carnegie and England.

"We talked a lot about the style of play and the rugby they should be working on to make the product more attractive alongside advice on referees and strength and conditioning.

"We also talked about different tactics and strategies over what it takes to win top-level games. We also talked about the product more attractive to the fans as well in America so they can enjoy the whole rugby experience."

Stuart Lancaster was at the helm for England's disappointing 2015 World Cup campaign. David Rogers/Getty Images

The opening weekend saw one of the league's unique nuances come into play when the first match went into sudden death overtime where Denver won with a golden penalty to claim a 16-13 triumph over Ohio. Denver currently lead the five-team league with four wins from four and Lancaster hopes to spend more time with the coaches and organisers over the next couple of months.

"It's a hugely exciting development, the guys at the top end deserve real credit for their vision and desire to get the game to reach a wider audience," Lancaster added. "They've got huge potential, they are only going to grow as a league. It'd be nice to stay involved and help out wherever I can."

There have been false dawns in the past for professional rugby stateside. The Super League was founded in 1996 but was disbanded in 2012. The USA Rugby Elite Cup lasted one season and the country's domestic club scene was split in two with the Pacific Rugby Premiership out west and the American Rugby Premiership in the east.

Now the five-team tournament is hoping to grow with a Canadian presence likely for next year's campaign. Lancaster is confident this incarnation and attempt to bring professional rugby to the U.S. will not go the way of its predecessors.

"This league is only the start; it will grow," Lancaster said. "It is incredibly difficult to get a programme that is largely amateur into a professional status. The commitment everyone has made is fantastic the players have taken a risk, some have given up jobs to be full-time rugby players but I can really see this taking off in USA and they can become a real force in the future and it is nice to have played a small part in it."