The Leicester Tigers will play the newly formed Rough Riders in Philadelphia on 8 August.

The 'Independence Cup' match will be held at the 69,000-capacity Lincoln Financial Field, and will signal the start of America's new professional league the NRFL (National Rugby Football League).

The Rough Riders will include some USA Test players and players from club level, NFL and college football. According to the NRFL, 'the Rough Riders can be likened to Teddy Roosevelt's cavalry who were men from many different states, countries and walks of life. They represent a “made in America” heritage that will inaugurate the NRFL entering the global sport of elite pro rugby'.

This will be the first time ever that an elite professional rugby union match is played in the United States by a professional American team.

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