French fry South Africa's bid for 2023 Rugby World Cup
Show us money: The real reasons France won 2023 WRC hosting rights
World Rugby plans to review the process in which South Africa had been named preferred bidder, only for France to be chosen to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont denied being humiliated as the membership voted against the recommendation by the governing body’s independent evaluation committee.
Beaumont, who repeatedly defended the bidding process as open and transparent, said: “A humiliation for me? I don’t think so. We’ve made a recommendation. The recommendation wasn’t accepted by council. Just because it went to France doesn’t mean there’s humiliation whatsoever.
“We will learn as we move forwards. This is the first time we’ve embarked on this process.”
South Africa hit out at rivals France and Ireland for not complying with a code of conduct. “This is the first time ever World Rugby has made a recommendation and they voted
against it,” SA Rugby president Mark Alexander said. “A set of rules was broken during that process which we are upset about.”
Alexander was referring to the fallout from the publication of the independent recommendation, in which France and Ireland questioned aspects of the judgment.
French bid chief Bernard Laporte felt the communication over a “misunderstanding” within the independent report “helped us — maybe”.
South Africa felt 99 per cent certain it would be hosting the tournament for a second time, after its successful staging in 1995 when the Springboks won in the first tournament in the postapartheid era. But, they missed out for a fourth-successive time.
A simple majority from the 39 votes was required and France claimed 24 in the second round to be selected as hosts ahead of South Africa, after Ireland’s elimination in round one.
New Zealand gave its three votes to South Africa as previously signalled, said NZR boss Steve Tew, who said the process was democratic. “South Africa will be disappointed and we share their disappointment,” he added.
Irish Rugby Football Union chief executive Philip Browne was magnanimous in a defeat during which even neighbours Scotland and Wales voted against them.
“If we had any difficulty, the difficulty was with the evaluation report, where we felt it was lacking in certain areas.
Warm memories don’t cut it any more in the World Cup when rugby’s rulers put their hosting rights up for a quadrennial tender.
Eloquent speeches about good times, camaraderie and the spirit of the game can’t match the commercial numbers when member nations consider votes for their economic future against the bonhomie of an oval ball festival.
That is a balance sheet which ends in the coup of France drawing votes from World Rugby delegates with a honeypot full of cash for the 2023 tournament; their highest bid gazumping an initial preference for South Africa to host the tournament.
Cash is king and assurances the coffers would be filled more in France and then re-distributed across the rugby globe, redirected the voting from “ja” to “oui”.
In the lead-up to the decision, all manner of rugby nobility spoke about preserving the essence of rugby but when it came to the reality of running the sport in these professional times, money ruled.
The emotional favourite was Ireland, those with a sentimental touch fastened on to South Africa while France found favour with the bean-counters.
France hosted the tournament in 2007 when the splintered format meant games were also played in Wales and Scotland. Each venue had a raucous epi-centre but there was a disconnected feel about the event until the final.
It was much the same when France was involved as co-host in 1991 but this time they bid to be the sole host. So did South Africa and Ireland; and each made strong cases.
My emotional response was for Ireland to win approval as long as their bid was in the economic ballpark with South Africa in the race if there was a hitch. It was support for the warmth of life and the love rugby generates in Ireland allied to a feeling they were due to run the event.
The World Cup in South Africa in 1995 was a magnificent tournament and the best of the seven events which interacted with my work, but recent troubles across an array of issues dropped them into the silver medal position with France getting the bronze because of their many and recent involvements.
That’s a sentimental view which is a tough position to justify in the colder world of professionalism where dosh is the boss, something World Rugby delegates expressed when they sided with Bernard Laporte and his French delegation. In an organisation which continues to work away from the limelight and public embrace, World Rugby made the rare step last month of publishing their in-depth report into hosting preferences for the 2023 tournament.
Perhaps they were justifying their expenditure by showing how much work they had done on the project or they were trying to spoil the politicking many saw as inevitable when the real vote took place. Either way, it held no weight.
You’re left to ask why bother, why have the interim report unless it was binding?