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The USA Eagles will be playing Ireland a second time in 2021. With the first match slated for July 10 in Dublin, a return date has now been booked for Saturday, October 30 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. It will be the first international rugby fixture at the new venue.
Allegiant Stadium opened its doors just last year at a construction cost of nearly $2 billion USD. The domed facility has a normal capacity of 65,000 that also features retractable side windows that open up to the Vegas Strip. Also unique is the surface, with a Bermuda grass field capable of rolling over the fixed FieldTurf surface. The UNLV football team plays on the turf field while the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders play on the grass field.
Of note is that the match falls outside of the regular November test window. The Eagles have yet to confirm their November series but already have a busy fall in store with World Cup Qualifiers against Canada slated for September 4 and 11. Should they win they would face a South American opponent to be determined in early October.
Ireland have been frequent visitors to the USA in recent years. They played the Eagles at Houston in 2013 and New Jersey four years later. They also played neutral-venue tests against New Zealand and Italy at Chicago’s Soldier Field in 2016 and 2018 respectively.
