Rugby’s coming home? RFU eager to bid on 2031 World Cup
As thoughts turn to Japan 2019, we cannot help but cast an affectionate eye in the rear view mirror at the last World Cup.
The hosts and co-hosts might not have hit the headlines out in the middle – England were squeezed out at the group stage and Wales fell to South Africa in the quarter finals. Nevertheless, the 2015 World Cup went down in history as the most successful ever. TV audiences were through the roof, and average attendances of more than 50,000 per match smashed all previous records.
It can come as little surprise, therefore, that the RFU is eager to host the World Cup again as soon as decency permits. According to the sporting body’s Chief Executive Steve Brown, that will be within the next 20 years, and could be as soon as 2031.
A convoluted bidding process
There is immense kudos, not to mention revenue, attached to hosting the world’s biggest sporting events. Rumours concerning irregularities in the bidding process for the Olympics refuse to lie down, and in rugby, there was widespread astonishment when France were announced as hosts after South Africa appeared to have it in the bag.
What about WC 2027?
There are those in the game who feel it has to be South Africa’s turn in 2027. It seemed all but certain that the Springboks would be playing in their own back yard in 2023, and this is a team that has now bid for four World Cups in succession to no avail. It seems a lifetime ago that Joel Stranskey led his team, almost single-handedly, to glory on home soil in 1995.
However, their wait is set to continue for a time yet. It has been strongly mooted that the 2027 event will be awarded to a nation outside the top flight for developmental reasons, and the success of football’s Russia 2018 will only serve to make this all the more likely.
World Rugby is determined to crack the American market, and the way America took to the Sevens earlier this year makes the USA an obvious choice. The showcase event attracted more than 100,000 spectators at San Francisco’s AT&T Park. Brett Gosper, the CEO of World Rugby told The Independent that the US is ready to embrace the full game. He said the floor is open for USA Rugby to put forward “a magnificent bid.”
If the event does go stateside in 2027, this will also boost the likelihood of it returning to a European venue in 2031. Rugby coming home? It seems increasingly likely – unless you live in South Africa, of course.