2023 bid loss can help us for 2027

SOUTH Africans, not just rugby fans, are disappointed that the members of sport’s controlling body, the World Rugby Council, decided to go against the recommendation of the Rugby World Cup Ltd board and chose France instead of us to host the 2023 showpiece.

The decision might have been easier to swallow had the Rugby World Cup Ltd board not pronounced South Africa as the favourites after the board had unanimously endorsed the bid document. It was a bitter blow for it came unexpectedly. It was probably made all the more bitter by the onfield failures in Ireland the previous weekend.

While we embrace the magnanimity shown by SA Rugby president Mark Alexander who apologised to the people and the government of South Africa for raising our hopes, we believe that Alexander and his board have nothing to be sorry for. They gave it their best shot and those who made the decision did not do so because South Africa had not made a compelling case.

In the same way that it applies on the field of play, we cannot dwell on a defeat, no matter how devastating and morale sapping at the end of the game. The mark of true champions is the ability to rise from adversity and keep going.

As per the modern idiom, success is falling nine times and getting up ten times. Just like there will be the next game or the next season, there will be other bids to compete for. In the same way that great teams learn more from on-field failure than they do from success, the bid company must take lessons from the 2023 setback so we can make an even better case for the 2027 tournament.

Incidentally, we lost the bid to our on-field rivals today, France. Let us hope that the Boks will at the least ease the pain of the boardroom loss with a resounding on-field triumph. South Africa and the South African rugby fraternity have seldom needed a reassuring win like we do today. Go Bokke!