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The dream is alive. That’s right, you read it correctly Argentina wants Rugby World Cup 2027. The world’s top ranked country not to have had the opportunity of hosting Rugby World Cup matches wants to do so in 2027. My dream of Argentina 2023 will not happen but a four year delay is certainly worth the wait.
Background
From 2010-2015 I blogged about the prospect of Argentina bidding to host Rugby World Cup 2023. Having received positive feedback I decided to expand on the idea and had turned it into a published book.
Released in late 2012 the book broke down the possibility into four sections – (a) Building recognition, (b) Why Argentina, (c) Global Impact and (d) Venues. They jointly answered the question of whether Argentina had the means of hosting and how it could do so.
Government Backing
Wanting is one thing but what Argentine rugby now has is another – government backing. The country’s elected President Mauricio Macri gave his blessing for Argentina to bid to host the Rugby World Cup in 2027.
The highest order in Argentina thereby gave the required green light which World Rugby demands. The importance of this cannot be understated. Without it a bid cannot get very far while with it a bid becomes 100% legitimate.
What Lies Ahead
Argentina’s case for hosting has gained strength in recent years. The country now has professional rugby, the national test team, Los Pumas, are now a two-time Rugby World Cup Semi Finalist and the union’s policy of staging matches nationwide has proven to be effective. Combined these three individual points make a strong case for Argentina to have the opportunity of hosting a Rugby World Cup.
Unknown at this stage is which other countries will be interested in hosting the tournament in 2027. Four countries are set to bid to host Rugby World Cup 2023 – France, Ireland, Italy and South Africa. Of them it is South Africa which has Argentina’s backing due to established ties which greatly assisted Argentina’s joining SANZAAR.
The specifics of the three bids will become known in the coming weeks. What is known at this point in time is that all four would be solo bids. South Africa plans on utilizing the same stadiums from the 2010 FIFA World Cup while France will look to the venues being used to host UEFA Euro 2016.
Ireland and Italy will also be looking big with soccer stadiums being prominent in Italy and GAA venues combining with rugby grounds in the emerald isle. In the case of Ireland a Rugby World Cup would be island-wide with matches in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Ireland 2023 would be a third Rugby World Cup in Ireland, following sub-hosting in 1991 and 1999. In between them South Africa hosted in 1995 while France did so in 2007.
Previous voting behavior implies that a conservative agenda would work against Italy. The new power structure in the World Rugby Council, though, could be decisive. Set to be World Rugby’s number two is Argentine rugby great Agustín Pichot.
Pichot has already made noise against the old establishment. In seeking to grow the game and further legitimize it he has declared his desire to tighten player eligibility laws and succeeded in making the Americas Rugby Championship a reality.
Prospects
Argentina as an option is notably different to that of the four 2023 contenders. It is uncharted waters in Rugby World Cup terms but is a stronghold in terms of the past, present and future.
The Italian and South African options are likely to be deemed higher risk than France or Ireland due to them being further away from the U.K. Combined with their local populations they are to look to convince World Rugby that 2023 needs to be back in the old Five Nations market.
Regardless of who wins the 2023 hosting rights Argentina will need to piece together a plan to demonstrate not only why it deserves to host but how it can be an economic success.
The country and economy are notably more stable now than when FIFA allocated hosting rights to Argentina of soccer’s World Cup in 1978. The population is also much larger. There are some 43 million people in Argentina, virtually ten times the number of the country which hosted the Rugby World Cup in 2011.
Alternative bidders to Argentina and the four interested in 2023 can also be identified. The USA attended workshops at the initial stages of the 2015 bidding process while 2003 hosts Australia had initially planned on bidding.
Canada is another that could be added but, like the USA, 2027 is realistically too soon. Their growing relationship with Argentina will, in all likelihood, see Argentina be put forward as the Western Hemisphere’s first official bid and have region wide support.
Only time will tell but for now Argentina is well positioned to place a convincing bid. Watch this space.
