Less than two months after Ma’a Nonu bought into Major League Rugby club San Diego Legoin, arguably the game’s best player, Antoine Dupont, has followed suit by buying a stake into a rival club.

The French captain, whose company is Ouest Coast, has bought into Rugby Football Club Los Angeles (RFCLA).

Dupont, the 2021 World Rugby player of the year, said he was excited by the potential growth of rugby in the USA, with the nation to host the men’s (2031) and women’s (2033) World Cups, as well as the LA Olympics in 2028.

“Rugby is more than just a sport; it’s a community with strong values,” Dupont said in a statement.

“Beyond competitive success on the pitch for RFCLA, I am excited by the opportunity to grow rugby’s popularity in the States and establish an energetic hub of rugby culture that attracts players, fans, teams, and partners from around the world.

“Los Angeles is a unique place, combining the best of sports, entertainment, fashion, and culture – I can’t think of any other place that provides such opportunities for youth development, high performance, and commercial success to go hand-in-hand.”

Antoine Dupont has been seen wearing RFCLA attire in recent months since returning from Los Angeles. Photo: Twitter

The decision comes months after the 28-year-old spent time travelling around the United States of America, including a stint in Los Angeles.

Dupont has since been seen wearing RFCLA kit, fuelling speculation that the star halfback was considering getting involved with the MLR side.

RFCLA chief executive Pete Sickle said he was thrilled to be able to unveil Dupont as a part-owner at the club.

“We feel very privileged that Antoine has chosen RFCLA as the pathway to inspire new rugby players and fans and to join us in growing a global rugby brand,” Sickle said.

“He is as dedicated to expanding the rugby community as he is to competing on the pitch and his vision for integrating the athleticism and core values of rugby will prove invaluable to building a bright future for rugby in LA and throughout the U.S.”

The announcement comes after The Roar revealed earlier this month that World Rugby and SANZAAR officials were considering expanding to the USA. It’s believed Sickle has spoken with New Zealand Rugby CEO Mark Robinson and Rugby Australia boss Phil Waugh.

While the two aren’t directly connected, it’s another indication that sides on the US west coast are becoming increasingly ambitious ahead of the World Cup.

France’s Antoine Dupont (centre) lifts the trophy with teammates after winning the 2022 Six Nations. (Photo by Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images)

World Rugby chairman Brett Robinson earlier this week confirmed the governing body’s desire in seeing whether a side out of the US could follow a similar path to the Fijian Drua in helping the national side.

“I mean, from our perspective, having a really successful Rugby World Cup in the US and the national teams be competitive are separate but connected,” he said.

“And, as I said earlier, we certainly are really excited about what the women’s 15 and sevens teams are doing globally.

“We met with the US board on Monday and they would agree that there’s more to do around how do we lift the standard of their men’s team.

“Certainly the MLR is playing a role, the Anthem team is playing a role, but if there was an opportunity in Super Rugby – and that’s a competition we don’t own and control, that’s in the hands of New Zealand and Australia, were wanting to talk to us about participation, or if it was the URC (United Rugby Championship) wanting to talk about participation – we could work collectively on a conversation around that.

“The Drua is a great story. Rugby Australia, with World Rugby, invested in the NRC for three years, then elevated to the Drua playing in the Super Rugby, and then the Fijians go to quarterfinals at the World Cup. So that’s a well-trodden path, systemically built together by leveraging World Rugby and the member unions, and if there was an opportunity to try and do something similar in the US, we’re open to that conversation.”

Robinson told The Roar Rugby podcast that he was interested in the opportunities and markets that the USA would open up, adding that the time zone of the west coast made it something that Oceania audiences could watch.

“I mean the competition is Super Rugby Pacific, and obviously that West Coast is on the Pacific Rim, so that would be one of the considerations,” he said.