Tony Ridnell

Congratulations to the USA Eagles. Not just for the 9th Test win in a row (31-5 vs. Romania in difficult Bucharest), but most importantly rocketing The Eagles to their highest World Rugby ranking ever.

As of Monday, the Eagles will be ranked 13th in the World.

For decades, rugby people have talked about Tier 1, intended to represent The Top 8 traditional rugby playing nations (aka “The IRB Countries”). The teams that occupy Tier 1 have not changed much over the years; only the order with which they are ranked. Much has been written on the reasons for this lack of mobility. It is true, ‘Tier 2’ nations are largely cut off financially from the spoils of the top level global game.

For example, today’s thriller between Japan and England at Twickenham yields exactly $0.00 for the Japanese Union. Apparently, some of the Brave Blossoms are on $20/day. …