RWC gives us reason to dream again

WITH all the doom and gloom happening in our country right now, it is extremely difficult to remain positive about the future. However, the announcement made early this week that South Africa is the preferred host for the Rugby World Cup gives us reason to have renewed hope about the future of our beautiful country.

While this is not the final step in our journey to bid for the rights to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup, it will certainly boost our chances of hosting the event.

World Rugby yesterday confirmed that the country was the preferred candidate to host rugby’s biggest spectacle in six years’ time ahead of our fellow candidates, France and Ireland, which came second and third, respectively.

South Africa was scored the highest in three categories: infrastructure, venues and host cities, and organisation and scheduling.

While members of the World Rugby council will meet on November 15 to cast their final votes, it will be difficult for them to go against the recommendation. There is no doubt that the 2010 Soccer World Cup legacy was instrumental in swinging the recommendation in the country’s favour.

If the rugby spectacle were to be held tomorrow, South Africa is the only candidate that would be ready to take it on. This is because we will not have to build any new stadiums, thanks to the world-class infrastructure built for the soccer showpiece.

Our ability to host major international events also gave us the edge over our competitors. Our record and experience in this regard speaks for itself.

While we remain confident of clinching this one, SA Rugby chief executive Jurie Roux and his team cannot afford to be complacent.

Even SA Rugby president Mark Alexander was confident about South Africa’s chances.

“It will be very difficult to deviate from the recom- mendation. I think the World Rugby will respect the recommendation,” Alexander said.

The only thing that can stand between us and hosting the Rugby World Cup is our high crime rate.

South Africa can really punch above its weight if it can sort out its crime problem.

This country has the potential to be among the world’s best if we can have the political will to reduce the scourge of crime.

Hopefully, hosting the rugby showpiece can help bring us together, just as Francois Pienaar and Nelson Mandela did at Ellis Park Stadium in 1995.