June 13 - USA Rugby are the latest to confirm their interest in hosting the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens in an attempt to boost the sport's reputation in the nation, though they will face competition from the likes of Wales and Singapore, who confirmed their bids yesterday.
USA Rugby director Will Chang, who is also a part-owner of the San Francisco Giants baseball franchise, will lead the bid and will visit Moscow to observe this year's event at the Luzhniki Stadium later this month.
"Hosting this tournament will support our goals of developing the game and further its popularity in the United States" said Chang.
"We are looking forward to hearing more about the bid process and will do everything we can to ensure the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens will take place on United States soil."
Sevens will make its debut appearance at the Olympic Games at Rio 2016, and the International Rugby Board (IRB) have decided to push the World Cup Sevens back by a year to ensure a seamless integration into the Games programme, making a five-year gap as opposed to the usual four.
The United States will face major competition to host the event, however, and even though Wales and Singapore have confirmed plans to launch a bid, there is also expected to be interest from France and Argentina.
Rugby has never been a particularly popular sport in America with sports such as baseball, American football, basketball and ice hockey ruling the roost, but participation has increased three-and-a-half fold since 2004 and rugby was found to be the fastest growing sport in the nation in a survey by National Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association in 2010.