Crusaders and Saracens will play at the home of the 2009 NFL Super Bowl champions, the New Orleans Saints © Getty Images

Enlarge

New Zealand's Crusaders and England's Saracens will create rugby history when meeting for the first time in a game to be played in New Orleans on August 1. The powerhouses of the southern hemisphere Super Rugby competition, the Crusaders, and the Aviva Premiership, Saracens will play for the Hemisphere Cup, under the auspices of RugbyLaw, the founders of the National Rugby Football League.

With American rugby having been exposed to the All Blacks last year, the fans were left with a small taste of rugby; now RugbyLaw are providing another chance for American sports fans to see world-class rugby at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

The Crusaders are the most successful side in the history of Super Rugby, having won seven titles in the 20 years the competition has existed. Saracens won the Premiership in 2010-2011 and were beaten finalists in 2009-2010 and 2013-2014.

The chief executive of the Crusaders, Hamish Riach said his organisation were thrilled to be playing the game and he felt it would be an "incredible spectacle" and "an historic occasion".

"This is an exciting opportunity for us, firstly to play an amazing international venue like the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, and secondly to play a team like Saracens, who we would never usually get the opportunity to play. Saracens and the Crusaders are two teams from opposite ends of the globe, but with similarly proud histories.

"It is not often that non-international teams from the southern and northern hemispheres have the chance to pit themselves against each other, and we are honoured to be involved in this inaugural hemisphere clash."

Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall said Saracens were privileged to play against one of the world's best teams in a city like New Orleans, and the club was looking forward to providing a rugby experience in a city renowned for its "vibrancy, history and culture".

"We are looking forward to being part of what will be a very special occasion. The Superdome is recognised the world over and our players are already excited about playing at the home of the New Orleans Saints and in front of a city that loves its sport. The Crusaders are one of the most successful sides in world rugby and as we very rarely get the chance to face teams from the southern hemisphere, we can't wait to test ourselves in what will be a very hard-fought contest."

The game is being played before the ITM Cup in New Zealand and ahead of the domestic rugby season in England.

When I was coaching at Wasps, after winning the Heineken Cup in 2007, we first had the idea about playing the Super XV champions.

The Wasps' chief executive at the time, David Davies, spoke with Hamish Riach back then about trying to get the two hemispheres to play a game, but it proved just too hard at that stage. There was no global season. After that teams have tried to do it but every year there was a hurdle.

But the appearance by the All Blacks at Soldier Field in Chicago last year showed how well the American public took to that game, and It's not surprising this has happened. I wouldn't be surprised if it is the start of something.

The important thing about the Crusaders-Saracens game is that it won't be a one-sided game but a competitive game between two very credible teams that have global names, and global brands. With the Crusaders and the Saracens, well-known names in their respective hemispheres you couldn't get a much better pick. It is a game that has the potential to tell other teams out there that this is very do-able.

"The USA has rugby as its fastest-growing contact sport and that has been the case for a number of years and it is continuing to grow at a great rate of knots."

A demonstration of quality rugby could be a great boost for the game in North America with the United States having just won their first HSBC Sevens World Series tournament and ahead of the publicity that will result from the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

If, as the organisers suggest, they can stage an annual event, it is hard to see it not eventually involving more teams. The beauty of this idea is that the game is being played at time and place where the seasons do overlap slightly.

It is not all about international rugby.

A lot of these guys have never been involved at that level in both sides, but they will get to play in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, the home of the New Orleans Saints, an amazing stadium.

Both teams will be without their Rugby World Cup players but they are two quality sides even without their internationals. And both teams will be preparing for their next competitions, the ITM Cup for the Crusaders' Canterbury players and the Premiership for the Saracens players.

ESPN columnist Craig Dowd is Director Southern Hemisphere for RugbyLaw, the organiser of the Hemisphere Cup match between the Crusaders and Saracens, and the operator of the National Rugby Football League in North America.