Rugby’s American ascent levels up again this weekend in Glendale.
The Denver Onyx, Colorado’s team in the new women’s professional league, Women’s Elite Rugby, plays its first match at 1 p.m. Saturday at Infinity Park against the Bay Breakers.
In the first year of WER, which replaced the amateur Women’s Premier League, players aren’t getting paid. But the single-entity league, which also owns teams in five other markets, is providing resources to elite American players that were previously out of reach.
“We have access to a medical staff, a training staff, full-time coaches, plus we don’t have to worry about any of the admin stuff: selling tickets, setting up games, paying for flights and hotels and meals on the road,” explained Rachel Ehrecke, a flanker for the Onyx who is also a national team player for the Women’s Eagles.
“All of those things are taken care of for us now, and we can just focus on the rugby, which is really nice. And as far as payment, we are pioneering the pathway for that to come in the future.”
The Onyx’s contracted roster features 22 players from the Colorado Gray Wolves, which won a national title last fall in the last hurrah of the WPL. There are also currently eight active Eagles on the roster, plus a Canadian national team member and a Mexican national team member.
Ehrecke and her teammates hope to build the sport on a national scale ahead of the women’s Rugby World Cup later this year in England. The women’s game is coming off a significant momentum boost last summer, when the U.S. won a historic bronze medal in sevens at the Paris Olympics.
“It’s nice to have a domestic league happening where we have competitive players, like Eagles and (Eagles) pool players, growing the game at home,” said Onyx and Eagles fly-half McKenzie Hawkins. “It really propels us in a positive direction for five, 10 years from now, so that we can be one of the top competing nations for the 2033 World Cup.”
The Onyx take their name from the rose onyx, the rare local gemstone featured prominently in the construction of Colorado’s capitol. The team’s been practicing together for about six weeks, usually at 6 a.m. at Infinity Park. That allows the players to get their training in before heading off to day jobs.
Hawkins, for example, is a researcher and PhD candidate at CU, where she studies atmospheric physics. Ehrecke is a rugby coach who works with Glendale Youth Rugby as well as the DU men’s club team.
Onyx GM Nick Donnelly says about 1,500 tickets have already been sold for Saturday’s opener and he believes attendance for the match could surpass the 2,000 mark with walk-up sales.
Meanwhile, fans at home can stream WER matches for free on DAZN. The league officially launched last weekend with a match between New York and Boston.
“By the end of the season, we’re expecting to be packed out (at Infinity Park),” said Donnelly, who is also the GM of the Twin Cities Gemini in Minnesota. “We want to provide the fans with a real show of high-quality professional rugby that you can’t really get anywhere else across the country.
“We also want to do work behind the scenes to engage sponsors and the community about the game of rugby, how it’s evolved into a professional league, and hopefully set the tone for the next season as we continue to grow the league and expand on how many teams we can offer.”
Donnelly said the Onyx and WER’s sponsorship situation is evolving. This month, the league announced several partnerships, including with Destination Sport Group as WER’s official travel partner, Pinto Capital LLP as strategic finance advisors and DAZN as its global broadcast partner.
While the WER looks to get its feet under it as the season progresses, the city of Denver is working on another bold move to increase the state’s rugby profile.
Earlier this month, the Denver Sports Commission hosted delegates from World Rugby as part of the city’s bid to host the men’s Rugby World Cup in 2031 and women’s Rugby World Cup in 2033.
Matthew Payne, executive director of the Denver Sports Commission, said the visit went well as delegates participated in a series of meetings, events and site visits hosted by the commission and city leaders. Empower Field and Dick’s Sporting Goods Park are the venues that would be used should Denver get a bid. Infinity Park could also be used for training.
If Denver is awarded a bid — which could be for either the men, women or both events — it would be one of a handful of cities hosting the event. Nine cities hosted the last men’s World Cup in France in 2023. The U.S. was selected to host the 2031 World Cup in 2022, and it will be the first time the tournament is held in the Americas.
The next step is likely another visit from World Rugby representatives later this year. Payne says he expects the bid process to continue throughout 2026, with a possible decision coming in ’27 on the men’s cities.
“We want to be on the list — we just need to continue to evaluate the event itself to see where we stand,” Payne said.
“… The popularity of rugby in the United States has increased, but it’s got a long way to go. The Rugby World Cup is a big moment for the growth of rugby. These steps, like the Onyx and other (WER) teams, are making only helps with that movement, and increasing the popularity of the sport as we move towards those big Rugby World Cup years.”