FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 25th, 2019

TEAM USA OPENS RUGBY WORLD CUP 2019 PLAY TOMORROW v. ENGLAND; COVERAGE BEGINS LIVE AT 5:45 A.M. ET ON NBCSN

Match Airs Live Tomorrow at 6:30 A.M. ET on NBCSN and Live Streamed on NBC Sports Gold; Pre-Match Coverage Begins at 5:45 A.M. ET

“The beginning of the professional era for USA Rugby, at least at the World Cup level, starts now.” – Dan Lyle

“I fully believe that USA rugby are going to give us moments to be very proud of.” – Alex Corbisiero

Team USA To Play England, France, Argentina and Tonga in ‘Pool of Death’

All Team USA Games Televised Live on NBCSN and Livestreamed on NBC Sports Gold

New Episode of The Scrumdown Podcast Previews England v. USA and Recaps Tournament’s Opening Games

Four Exclusive Matches on NBC Sports Gold’s “Rugby World Cup Pass” This Weekend, Including Japan v. Ireland and Australia v. Wales

STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 25, 2019 – Team USA opens its 2019 Rugby World Cup schedule tomorrow, September 26, when the Eagles face England from Kobe Misaki Stadium in Kobe, Japan. Pre-match coverage begins live at 5:45 a.m. ET on NBCSN and NBC Sports Gold. The match starts live at 6:30 a.m. ET.

Sky Sports’ Rupert Cox will handle the play-by-play call along with NBC Sports’ rugby analysts Alex Corbisiero, who played internationally for England, and Brian Hightower, a former USA Rugby World Cup participant and USA Sevens captain. Sky Sports’ Gail Davis will provide live reports on Team USA from on-site in Japan.

Additionally, NBC Sports’ Ahmed Fareed will host studio coverage with Corbisiero, Hightower and Dan Lyle, a former USA Rugby captain and Premiership Rugby player. Throughout the coverage of England v. USA, NBC Sports will show live look-ins of fans at a New York City bar and a London pub. The viewing parties will take place at New York’s Pig ‘N’ Whistle on 36th and the Cabbage Patch pub in Twickenham.

Team USA will compete in Pool C – the “Pool of Death” – against England, Argentina, France and Tonga. NBCSN will televise all U.S. matches live.

Following is Team USA’s pool play schedule:

    • Thursday, September 26 at 5:45 a.m. ET v. England
    • Wednesday, October 2 at 3:00 a.m. ET v. France
    • Wednesday, October 9 at 11:45 p.m. ET v. Argentina
    • Sunday, October 13 at 1:30 a.m. ET v. Tonga

 

The 2019 Rugby World Cup began last week when host-nation Japan defeated Russia 30-10 and continues over the next five weeks, culminating with the Rugby World Cup Final on Saturday, Nov. 2, from International Stadium Yokohama. The World Cup Final, along with both semifinal matches, will be available live on NBC Sports Gold and re-aired on NBC. NBCSN will also present live coverage of the 2019 Final.

The second episode of The Scrumdown podcast is available now, as Lyle, Hightower and Cox join Corbisiero to discuss the tournament’s opening games and preview the England v. USA match.

 

Corbisiero, Hightower, Lyle and Cox weighed in on Team USA’s World Cup outlook heading into their opening match. Click here to see more quotes from NBC Sports’ Rugby World Cup commentating team previewing the 2019 World Cup.

On Team USA’s expectations in Pool C:

Corbisiero: “I think Team USA are the best American outfit and most prepared team that has ever stepped into the World Cup. But this is also the most talented, toughest World Cup to date. I think they’re in a really tough pool – the ‘Pool of Death’ it’s been nicknamed – and it’s going to be very tough for them. I do think that they’re going to do their country proud and I see them winning one game at least.”

Hightower: “I think on a microscopic level, the coaches have this team better prepared than in the past and a lot of that has to do with the amount of time that they spent together. We’re talking about eight weeks in the development of this team preparing for a World Cup.”

Lyle: “I think now is when you start benchmarking this team. Certainly, they’ve got a tremendous pool to benchmark themselves against, so it’ll be very difficult coming out of it, but this is where we should see progress moving forward.”

Cox: “The exciting thing about second-tier teams is every game’s a final. Let’s face it, USA is not going to win the World Cup. But every time they take the field it’s the biggest game of their time.”

 

On the impact this World Cup can have on USA Rugby:

Lyle: “The beginning of the professional era for USA Rugby, at least at the World Cup level, starts now. You’ve never had a fully professional team. From 1995, when the game went professional, almost until a quarter of a century on, this is the first time the team has been fully professional.”

Corbisiero: “I fully believe that USA rugby are going to give us moments to be very proud of. We are going to be able to highlight and show what is going on which can inspire younger kids watching who might be new to the game or might have only seen it on TV.”

Cox: “This is the next opportunity to spread the gospel of this amazing, properly global sport in this country. And to be here trying to promote the sport, tell the stories that we were talking about that could unfold over the next weeks, it’s a real privilege to do it.”

 

NBC Sports Gold provides rugby fans with unprecedented access to Rugby World Cup 2019 with multiple direct-to-consumer live streaming passes, which include commercial-free coverage, live and on-demand, on desktop, mobile, tablet and connected TV devices.

Highlighting live exclusive matches upcoming on NBC Sports Gold are:

    • Saturday, September 28 at 3:00 a.m. ET: Japan v. Ireland
    • Sunday, September 29 at 3:30 a.m. ET: Australia v. Wales
    • Wednesday, October 2 at 6:00 a.m. ET: New Zealand v. Canada

 

Following are the NBC Sports Gold Rugby World Cup 2019 options available for purchase:

    • “Rugby World Cup Pass”
      • Available for $199.99 for the entire tournament ($4.15 per game)
      • Includes all 48 matches live, commercial-free and on-demand
        • 22 exclusive matches to be shown only on NBC Sports Gold
      • Features exclusive original programming, daily pre- and post-day shows, extended match highlights and more
    • “Rugby World Cup Single Match Pass”
      • Available for $29.99 for one pool play match
    • “All-Access Premium Rugby Pass”
      • Available for $229.99
      • Includes all offerings from “Rugby Pass” and “Rugby World Cup Pass”
      • “Rugby Pass” consists of all matches from the Premiership Rugby League, Six Nations Championship, Heineken Champions Cup and knockout phase matches of the European Rugby Cup Challenge

 

ABOUT NBC SPORTS GOLD

NBC Sports Gold is NBC Sports’ direct-to-consumer live streaming product that provides sports fans with access to exclusive premium sports events and content, live and on-demand, at an affordable price. Launched in 2016 with a single cycling product, NBC Sports Gold currently offers 17 individual sports “passes” – twelve domestic (PGA TOUR LIVE, Premier League, Premier League Match Day, INDYCAR, Cycling, Track & Field, Premier Lacrosse League, Speed Skating, Rugby, Rugby World Cup, Supercross, and Snow, consisting of seven Olympic winter sports); two regional (Blazers and Philly); one combination (Supercross and Pro Motocross), two domestic and international (Figure Skating and Pro Motocross); and one international-only (Notre Dame Football). Find NBC Sports Gold in the NBC Sports app available on Apple iOS & tvOS, Android, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Chromecast and NBCSportsGold.com, and also on Xfinity X1 and Xfinity Flex.

-2019 RUGBY WORLD CUP-