The 2027 and 2031 Rugby World Cup tournaments will be hosted by Australia and the USA respectively, while Spain are apparently well-placed to remain in strong contention for the 2035 tournament. However, there are also reports that they will face fierce competition from the likes of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.
Such financial clout in those regions undoubtedly could have a major influence on such a probability, and it’s also the reason why SA Rugby do not believe it is financial viable to re-enter the bidding wars.
SA Rugby formally – but unsuccessfully – made a bid to host the 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023 events, with the last attempt at hosting the rugby showpiece having ended controversially after some behind-the-scenes lobbying saw the World Rugby council make a U-turn and vote for France as a hosts.
Recently, it was reported that the South African government would still potentially be in support of a potential bid to host the 2035 Rugby World Cup, but not all parties are aligned in this regard.
Rugby World Cup may still be out of reach for South Africa
For South Africa to host the World Cup again, the government would need to make a big financial commitment, while millions would need to be spent on stadium upgrades.
It’s with this in mind that SA Rugby president Mark Alexander has said he will tell the national body not to bid for the 2035 or 2039 Rugby World Cup tournaments.
“We know some stadiums have not been maintained properly,” Alexander told the Sunday Times. “It just brings so many other challenges to the country. People think it is just a sports event but so many other things have to be activated.
“I will tell Saru not to do this. There’s other stuff more urgent than the World Cup. We are a third-world country. Our economy is not strong and we have to act responsibly.
“I know our members would love to host the World Cup but for now and all the challenges we have, we will be putting the country through undue pressure. I know sport does a lot for social cohesion but I think it would be unfair on government to put up guarantees. I think it will be unfair as a sport to put our country through that again.”
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