Australia's World Cup bid under threat as USA enters race to host 2027 event
Australia’s quest to host the 2027 World Cup has come under threat following news that the United States has been accepted as a bid candidate.
USA Rugby have entered bids to host either the 2027 or 2031 men’s World Cup, while a bid to host the 2029 women’s World Cup has also been placed.
The bids come after a feasibility study was undertaken last year to research the suitability of an American-hosted World Cup.
Should the USA be successful in any of its bids to host one of the men’s World Cups, it would be the first time rugby’s global showpiece event would be staged in either North or South America.
Hosting the 2027 World Cup in the USA would also be timely given the country is set to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, alongside Canada and Mexico, as well as the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Furthermore, the potential use of NFL stadiums could help make a World Cup a marquee event akin to that of a FIFA World Cup or Olympic Games.
“We first reached out to key stakeholders, cities and stadiums, and groups like NFL and Major League Soccer and others who will be impacted by this,” Jim Brown, chief executive of the USA Rugby World Cup bid, told The Guardian during the feasibility study.
“Our first way was just to see how interest levels were with those key stakeholders. And we got a resounding positive reaction.
“We’re at around 30 host cities that are interested and a little over 30 major stadiums that are interested … and these are the big stadiums: MetLife, New York [home to the Giants and Jets, capacity 82,500], every major stadium from an NFL standard.”
Brown added that college football stadiums like “the Rose Bowl [Pasadena, 91,000, host of the 1994 and 1999 FIFA men’s and women’s World Cup finals], the Cotton Bowl [Dallas, 92,100]” and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, which holds 71,600, could also be used.
For matches between smaller nations, Brown said Major League Soccer [MLS] venues were being considered “in case we determine matches would better be served in a smaller stadium”.
?? @usmlr‘s biggest stars dominated the @USARugby roster selected by @Garygoldrugby ahead of next month’s test matches versus @IrishRugby & @EnglandRugby. Of particular intrigue are the young players set to earn their first caps ??https://t.co/cYFKvtvnIZ by @AlexanderDiegel
— The Rugby Network (@therugbynetwork) June 11, 2021
It wouldn’t be the first time the United States has hosted a major rugby event.
Between 2014 and 2016, the All Blacks played two tests in front of sold-out crowds at Soldier Field, home to the Chicago Bears, as they beat the USA 74-6 and lost to Ireland for the first time ever in a 40-29 defeat.
Soldier Field also played host to the Wallabies and the USA in 2015, as well as Ireland and Italy in 2018, although neither match generated as much interest at the two All Blacks tests.
San Fransisco was also the host city of the 2018 Sevens World Cup – which was played at Oracle Park, home to the San Fransisco Giants from Major League Baseball – which more than 100,000 fans attended over the course of three days.
Those spectacles showed glimpses of how a potential explosion of rugby popularity could sweep the USA, which is what happened in Japan when it hosted the 2019 World Cup.
The benefits of staging a World Cup in a developing rugby nation were not only reflected by Japan’s groundbreaking run to the tournament’s quarter-finals, but also in the ensuing years after the event was staged.
Since their breakthrough World Cup campaign where they defeated European powerhouses Ireland and Scotland, the Brave Blossoms have since risen to 10th in the World Rugby rankings and are set to play the British and Irish Lions this month.
At domestic level, the 2020 Top League recorded a surge in attendance figures as a global stars of the game arrived in Japan to ply their club trade before COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the competition.
By comparison, the USA Eagles currently rank 16th in the world and lost all four of their matches in Japan two years ago, meaning they have won just three of 25 World Cup matches since 1987.
Major League Rugby, meanwhile, is still only club competition in its early development stages three years after its inaugural campaign.
However, while there is a sense of optimism about what an American-hosted World Cup could provide for rugby, there is strong resistance from other parties interested in hosting the 2027 and 2031 World Cups.
Couldn’t have said it better ourselves, @mcuban.
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— USA Rugby (@USARugby) June 10, 2021
Prior to the USA Rugby’s announcement, Australia and Russia stood as the only nations that had bid for the 2027 World Cup, with Rugby Australia [RA] considered strong favourites to host its first World Cup since 2003.
RA formally launched its bid in Sydney last month and the union’s chairman, Hamish McLennan, told the Sydney Morning Herald that the USA’s poor record in test rugby and USA Rugby’s recent financial woes could count against their World Cup bids.
“I think their Achilles heel is they don’t really have a viable team and [a union] that has just come out of bankruptcy,” McLennan said. “There is no point hosting if you can’t field a proper national team.”
While RA continue to push for the 2027 World Cup hosting rights, USA Rugby may also opt to narrow in on that particular tournament as England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales are thought to be weighing up a conjoint bid to co-host the 2031 World Cup as part of their COVID-19 recovery efforts.
USA Rugby chief executive Ross Young, a former Rugby World Cup general manager, told The Guardian his union hasn’t ruled out the prospect of co-hosting a World Cup with Canada, particularly for the 2029 women’s World Cup.
Cross-border venue sharing at World Cups has been done previously, as was the case in 1987 between New Zealand and Australia, in 1991 between the United Kingdom and Ireland, in 1999 between the UK, Ireland and France, in 2007 between France, Scotland and Wales, and in 2015 between England and Wales.
Before then, though, Young is eager to undergo the bidding process before an official decision is made as to who will host the 2027, 2029 and 2031 World Cups next May.
“We just received the bid documents from World Rugby, and we’re still digesting the documents. We have our first call formal call with them on Thursday, with any questions we may have,” Young told The Guardian.
“But really, the key dates following this would be the end of the year, first drafts of some of the commitment letters and some of the key documentation that they require for their review and obviously discussion. And then the formal bid submissions are due on 14 January.
“Then the decision comes in May. All three at once.”
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