O’Neill backs Ireland to host Rugby World Cup
FORMER Australian Rugby Union boss John O’Neill says Ireland deserve to win hosting duties for the 2023 Rugby World Cup ahead of South Africa and France this week – and he believes Australia’s two votes may be decisive.
After tense and acrimonious campaigning, the winner will be decided on Wednesday when the 31-member World Rugby Council votes in a secret ballot.
South Africa are at shortodds to prevail after they scored highest in an independent analysis of the three bids, which was commissioned by the Rugby World Cup board and rated a range of technical, financial and logistic criteria.
The process was brought in to avoid any FIFA-style voting scandals but after South Africa were recommended two weeks ago, it has been criticised by France and Ireland as unfair, narrow and error-strewn.
World Rugby defended the process and head office expect the World Rugby Council will rubberstamp the recommendation this week with votes.
O’Neill, however, believes it may not necessarily unfold that way. The former ARU boss knows the politics of World Rugby – and Rugby World Cups – intimately, having run the 2003 World Cup in Australia and having also sat on the RWC board.
O’Neill said the RWC board had previously commissioned reviews on bidding hosts but did the work internally, as opposed to external consultants.
“The Council has been known in the past not to accept the recommendation,” O’Neill said. “The Council is still the supreme governing body of World Rugby and the ballot is a secret ballot. So you don’t know.
“Ireland, France and South Africa aren’t allowed to vote but you can imagine England, Scotland and Wales would support Ireland.” He said the question is, “who is Australia going to vote for?”