Argentina pull out of World Cup race and pledge support behind opposition
Argentina have pulled out of the race to host the 2027 World Cup and have instead thrown their support behind the only other tier-one nation currently believed to be competing for rugby’s showpiece tournament.
The destinations for the 2027 and 2031 World Cup won’t be awarded until next year but Argentina have made the decision to abandon their chances of bringing the competition to the Americas for the first time in favour of giving Australia a greater shot at winning hosting rights.
Rugby Australia’s financial situation is shaky, to say the least. CEO Raelene Castle revealed earlier this month that the Australian union could shed $120 million of revenue if matches are cancelled for the remainder of the year which, coupled with RA’s $9.4 operating deficit for 2019 paints a bleak outline of the nation’s predicament.
A World Cup’s worth of revenues would a be a huge boon for Rugby Australia – even if they’d have to wait almost 8 years before the competition arrived on their doorstep.
The Unión Argentina de Rugby have decided that lodging a bid for the 2027 Cup would make little sense, given the bid of their SANZAAR brother.
“We discussed it with Australia and we thought it was not good for us to compete against our partner,” World Rugby vice-chairman Agustine Pichot revealed to The Daily Telegraph.
“So we decided to just let Australia run because they also had a stronger project.”
Australia last hosted the Rugby World Cup in 2003 when Jonny Wilkinson kicked a famous drop goal to help England snare the title from the hosts’ grasps in the grand final.
That tournament generated $44 million of profit for the nation which would be a huge windfall for Australia on its own but if recent competitions are to go by, Australia could be set to make considerably more than that figure in 2027.
The 2015 competition hosted by England netted $4.7 billion revenue while Japan produced $6.4 billion last year.
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Of course, for any such tournament to go ahead in Australia, RA will need to keep the game afloat in the meantime – which is easier said than done.
Pichot confirmed earlier this week that the SANZAAR nations would not receive any bailing out if things take a further turn for the worse this year due to coronavirus and Australia are quite possibly in the worst situation of any of the member nations.
Still, a World Cup would give fans in Australia something to similar about – and something to invigorate the game at the lower levels. With the Northern Hemisphere hosting the latest three scheduled tournaments (England 2015, Japan 2019, France 2023), there’s certainly a very good argument for taking the competition south.
“From a rugby point of view but also from a general population point of view, it’s projects like this which provide a bit of light at the end of a dark tunnel,” RA’s RWC bid manager Anthony French said.
Comments on RugbyPass
Don’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
9 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
33 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
33 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
33 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
33 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
33 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
33 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
1 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
33 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to commentsNot good to hear Ulster described as “financially troubled”. Did not think it was getting to that level. I would hope the Irish system of spreading players of talent away from Leinster would kick in now. Better to have a Leinster fringe player with Ulster or Connacht, then getting only a few games a season in Dublin. 10, for example, would seem to be a case for spreading the talent. I would not be at all adverse to a SA man coming in as head coach/DR. Ludeke is worth trying. Certainly got a long and impressive coaching career at this level…..149 games in SR, then Japan, 30 years experience. And Ulster’s ledger of successful SA coaches and players is on the positive side. Is talk of Ruan Pienaar interested in coming back as a coach…..could be a good combination with Ludeke. And Pienaar and family would have no settling in to do, one would judge. He loved life in Ulster when there, by all reports.
1 Go to comments