Wiese slams RWC 2023 ‘mockery’

Editor

1995 World Cup-winning Springbok Kobus Wiese believes that the recommendation process for RWC 2023 didn’t make sense from the very beginning after France were announced as tournament hosts.

On October 31, 2017, South Africa celebrated as World Rugby announced that they would be its official recommendation to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

This result came out after an independent audit was conducted, and the results scored South Africa higher than both France and Ireland.

The World Rugby Council vote happened on Wednesday and this recommendation was expected to guide the global representatives, with South Africa the hot favourites to be awarded the tournament hosting rights.

Ireland was eliminated from the voting process in the first round before France beat South Africa by 24 votes to 15 to leave Jurie Roux, Mark Alexander and the rest of South Africa dumbfounded.

“It makes a mockery of that (the recommendation),” Wiese told Sport24.

“I thought it was a strange thing to do anyway because it says that the international body, in a way, favoured an international country.

“That’s a bit stupid.

“It’s a mockery … they should not continue with that.”

World Rugby president Bill Beaumont said this bidding process was the “most transparent” it had ever been.

South African Rugby, however, will feel blind-sided because they believe that they were essentially told they would be hosting the 2023 tournament.