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Neither of Rugby World Cups 2027 or 2031 will be in South Africa. The reigning World Champions were strong contenders to bid to host RWC 2027 or 2031, but will not do so for financial reasons notes South African publication Rapport.
The Afrikaans language publication reported that the South African government will not be able to meet the guaranteed fee of $2billion rand to stage the tournament.
With no bid from South Africa the RWC 2027 and 2031 race will be very different to the contenders for RWCs 2011-2023. South Africa bid for all tournaments, coming the closest in 2023. On that occasion World Rugby deemed South Africa as a superior option to the winning candidate France.
France 2023 defeated bids from South Africa and Ireland. In doing so the country was allocated RWC 2023 in 2017, ten years after it hosted RWC 2007. Both Argentina and Italy had intended on bidding, only to withdraw. The former did so in no small part due to the hypothesis that it would not be able to out bid France.
Argentina will not bid for RWC 2027. Instead, the country will support Australia’s RWC 2027 bid. In addition to Australia, the RWC 2027 race also includes Russia. No other union has expressed an interest in bidding at this stage.
It is widely believed that RWC 2027 will be allocated to Australia due to five factors. First, the financial injection would turn around Rugby Australia’s longstanding grave financial problems. Second, World Rugby can categorize the Australian market as both very reliable and highly profitable. Third, no other Tier 1 union will bid. Fourth, the World Rugby Council voting structure favors a traditional union. Fifth, indications are that the bid will be compelling.
At present no bids have been tabled for RWC 2031. Notwithstanding, England has made it clear that it does intend to bid. World Rugby will determine the hosts for RWCs 2027 and 2031 simultaneously. This is a repeat of RWCs 2015 and 2019. World Rugby CEO Brett Gosper notably believes it was paramount to Japan securing RWC 2019 hosting rights.
The RWC 2027 and 2031 host selection process may yet assist the Americas, both north and south. First, Gosper is on record in wanting the USA to bid to host RWC 2027 or 2031. Second, South Africa’s withdrawal may yet be the encouragement that Argentina needs.
It was previously confirmed that Argentina 2027 would cost US$200 million. The same costs can be passed on to a bid for RWC 2031. It should be noted that this would not be a cost to the UAR nor the Argentine government. To the contrary, it would be recovered along with a lot more from hosting the tournament itself. RWC 2019 generated £4.3 million (US$ 5.6 million) nearly in economic outcome.
Argentina and the USA are thereby two potential new markets who could bid for RWC 2031. Additional new markets are Italy and Spain. Russia’s 2027 bid may be listed for both RWC 2027 and 2031. Indeed, Japan’s 2019 bid was also for 2015.
Click here to read about the USA as a hypothetical single host for RWC 2027 or 2031. .
Click here to read about Argentina as a hypothetical single host for RWC 2027 or 2031.
