PRO Rugby, the U.S. professional rugby union competition that completed its first season in July, "could be set to close," according to Martin Pengelly of the London GUARDIAN. On Tuesday, league Owner Doug Schoninger said in a letter to players that "contracts will be terminated if agreement cannot be reached with USA Rugby," the governing body of the sport in America. He insisted, however, that his project "was not closing down." Statements posted to PRO Rugby’s social media accounts said that it "planned future competition" and quoted a line attributed to Mark Twain, saying, “Reports of our death have been greatly exaggerated.” In the letter to players, Schoninger wrote, "We have been having serious issues with the cooperation and the enforcement of our agreement with USA Rugby." Schoninger met USA Rugby CEO Dan Payne in N.Y. last week. Issues discussed were "reported to include the PRO Rugby sanctioning agreement; the Celtic and Italian Pro12 competition’s expressed interest in operating franchises in North America; and reported moves by Schoninger to buy the financially stricken Southern Kings South African Super Rugby team" (GUARDIAN, 12/21).
