England and Ireland to play USA in the summer

USA Rugby head coach Gary Gold has confirmed that his side will play Tests against Ireland and England this July.

Speaking as a guest on Alex Corbisiero’s American Rugby Show podcast, the Eagles boss explained that the US will be travelling to Dublin and London for Tests in the summer.

He said: “What our schedule is, that has just been confirmed, is that on July 3rd we’ll be playing England at Twickenham in our first game that we play since returning from covid and the Rugby World Cup and a week later we’re due to play Ireland at the Aviva (Stadium).”

The full summer schedule is yet to become completely clear with the global pandemic still causing sever disruption. Ireland were originally due to tour Fiji in the summer. That tour was unfortunately cancelled following a coronavirus outbreak in Fiji.

Ireland boss Andy Farrell said of the cancellation: “It is incredibly disappointing that we are not now able to tour Fiji.

“Touring is such an invaluable experience in terms of what we learn about the group and that is why the IRFU worked tirelessly with Simon Raiwalui, the high performance general manager of Fiji Rugby to make the tour a reality and it is such a shame that it can now not go ahead.”

Wales’ tour to Argentina and Uruguay also appears to be off. Last week, WRU chief executive Steve Phillips said: “I cannot see us travelling to Argentina.” With a summer schedule full of holes, USA may be in further demand.

The British & Irish Lions are set to play Japan at Murrayfield on June 26 as a warm-up for their tour of South Africa.

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