URC chiefs hope to stage a match involving an Irish province in the United States but say a Leinster v Munster derby clash would be "hard" to take on the road.
Over the course of the last decade the tournament has undergone a number of format changes with the addition of four big South African franchises two years ago the last major change.
Mentions of some element of cross-Atlantic initiative have never been far away and the BKT United Rugby Championship CEO Martin Anayi said yesterday that they have been in discussion with "people over in Boston" about the possibility of one of the provinces playing in the city, which has a large Irish-American population.
"Out of all the leagues, I think we've got the most resonance in the States," said Anayi.
"We actually generate the most amount of money from the TV deal in the States than any other [rugby] leagues.
"I think it shows certainly an Irish element of the audience is significant in the United States and they would absolutely support our teams going over there and playing.
"We have been in discussions with people over in Boston. I can't find the right date.
"I know that sounds really silly but it's about getting the timing right with the venue. You've got Major League Baseball over certain parts of the season.
"So it's about getting the right date and making sure that our clubs here really want to do that."
While the prospect of taking the two most successful Irish provinces stateside might sound most appealing, Anayi suggested that, in practice, it would be hard to organise.
He added: "Taking an interpro though, like a Munster v Leinster game, it's a whole different kettle of fish, isn't it?
"One of the key reasons why somebody puts the hard-earned money into a season ticket is because they want to go see a game at Thomond Park or the Aviva Stadium so I think it would be hard to take a Munster v Leinster game away, but there might be other combinations that could work out there.
"We haven't found the right solution yet, so we don't want to do it without everybody."
Anayi, who is also on the board of EPCR, was asked if there was any update on an initiative to run a women's competition.
"That's a key initiative internally for us," he said.
"Over 50% of our workforce are women and are very, very keen as we are, as I am, to see a women's competition of some description.
"There has been a competition, the [Celtic Challenge], which ran through the Six Nations. We were asked to have a watching brief of that and see if there was anything we could add etc. So we're starting to do that.
"I've actually got a few of our team working on a case study and a business case for a women's competition."
"What are the different options?
"We're really keen on talking to the Premier 15s [in England] and learning a lot of lessons that they're learning through the process of what the RFU have done with that.
"We want to be really integrated at union level and at World Rugby level so lots and lots of conversations are ongoing.
"The desire is absolutely there. Our clubs are starting to vote with their feet. The Vodacom Bulls have just launched a women's team in South Africa.
"There comes a point when you have to piece this all together and say, 'right, this is what we're gonna do'.
"At EPCR, with my other hat on, they are really keen to see an EPCR women's competition of some description as well because it's very important that we've got that on the agenda so we're trying to talk to our French colleagues and the Premier 15s.
"They're might be an opportunity for the Premier 15s to come and share some office space here in London with us.
"That's sort of our thinking with trying to create some of the glue, and from those conversations we try to come up with something which is sustainable, which is exciting, which is cool. And we're doing a lot of learning at the moment.
"I think the Women's Six Nations, for example, is going great guns. We're learning a lot from them. What the TikTok guys have done with that.
"There absolutely has to got to be a competition in there somewhere. We just want to make sure that it's as good and sustainable as possible."
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