France Wins Bid To Host Rugby World Cup
By SA News
South Africa will not be hosting the Rugby World Cup in 2023, to the disappointment of many.
The World Rugby Council on Wednesday announced that France will host the tournament.
At the hotly anticipated announcement ceremony in London, France beat fellow host candidates South Africa and Ireland to host the spectacle.
The European country will host the 10th World Cup since the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987.
Chairman of World Rugby and Rugby World Cup, Bill Beaumont, made the announcement that was attended by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and his delegation (including Sport and Recreation Minister Thulas Nxesi, SA Rugby President Mark Alexander and Chief Executive Officer Jurie Roux).
Beaumont thanked the host candidates for their bids.
“We set out on this host selection process with the objective of selecting a host that would deliver an outstanding Rugby World Cup in every way. Within their bids all host candidates demonstrated that they could deliver a truly exceptional tournament for teams and fans. We believe that this is the most comprehensive and transparent host selection process ever undertaken by World Rugby,” said Beaumont.
In September, Deputy President Ramaphosa led the Rugby World Cup Bid Team SA when it presented its case to host the 2023 tournament that will take place 200 years after the invention of the game of rugby by William Webb Ellis.
Following its bid, South Africa — which previously hosted the tournament in 1995 — was named as the “clear leader” and “unanimous” choice of the Rugby World Cup board to host the 2023 tournament. This follows an exhaustive tendering, clarification and evaluation process. Contenders France and Ireland were rated second and third respectively.
Wednesday’s final decision rested with 26 World Rugby Council members, who collectively exercised 39 votes and among whom a simple majority was required to secure the hosting rights.
Japan will host the tournament in 2019
