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Reports out of England are clear: England will not bid for RWC 2027, though the RWC 2015 hosts are focused on hosting the RWC again at the subsequent RWC in 2031.
An RFU (England Rugby) spokesperson pointed out that England has no plans to place a bid for RWC 2027. This came in response to Australia’s chairman, Hamish McLennan who stated that they expected to have a rival bid from England.
RWC 2023 will be hosted exclusively by France. It is to be the fifth Rugby World Cup in Europe but the first to have all matches played in one country. First, RWC 1991 started and ended in England with other matches spread around France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Second, in 1999 Wales hosted the event with the other Five Nations unions all sub-hosting. Third, the bulk of RWC 2007 was in France though Scotland and Wales sub-hosted. Finally, in 2015 Wales hosted eight matches including home games for the sub-hosts against Fiji and Uruguay.
France 2023 will also be the third consecutive RWC in the Northern Hemisphere. If follows RWC 2015 in England and Wales and RWC 2019 in Japan. The bid was chosen over South Africa despite World Rugby declaring South Africa as the best option ahead of rival bids from France and Ireland.
England’s decision to bid for RWC 2031 means that RWC 2027 may return to the Southern Hemisphere. Australia will officially bid and is expected to present a reputable argument as to why it ought to be the host country. South Africa has declared provisional support for Australia 2023 while New Zealand will not bid and nor will Argentina.
Australia’s RWC 2027 opposition will therefore not come from the Southern Hemisphere. At present Australia 2027 is up against a bid from Russia. Russia competed at RWCs 2011 and 2019, facing Japan in the opening match of last year’s tournament. It has been declared that Russia intends to use the stadiums from the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
World Rugby CEO Brett Gosper is hopeful that the USA will bid to host either RWC 2027 or 2031. USA Rugby is yet to declare its position over the possibility of either.
