Rugby Australia statement: Government support for World Cup bid

Rugby Australia has welcomed confirmation of further Australian Government support for Australia’s Rugby World Cup bid – the budget outlining that investment for Australia’s existing bid to host Rugby World Cup 2027 will now be extended to include a bid for the women’s Rugby World Cup in 2029. It follows $9.8million in funding the Australian Government has already provided to support Rugby Australia’s bid efforts.

Australia is currently the preferred candidate to host Rugby World Cup 2027 and Rugby Australia will now consider with World Rugby the potential to also bid to host Rugby World Cup 2029. A statement read: “With Australia the preferred candidate for the bid, the Commonwealth will support event delivery and operations, should the World Rugby Council announce it as a successful host on May 12, 2022.

“The Commonwealth will also support legacy initiatives across Rugby Australia’s domestic programs and investment into Pacific-focused programs, ensuring the impact of hosting is felt beyond the action on the field and for the benefit of the region.

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“The Australian Government has also committed in-kind operational services and support to ensure the delivery of the tournament can meet the standards of a major global event and provide a world-class environment for both athletes and fans.”

Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan added: “On behalf of the entire Australian Rugby community, I would like to sincerely thank the Australian Government for their commitment to Australia’s bid to bring the Rugby World Cup back to our shores.

“The Australian Government’s support is a huge boost for our bid as we continue to work with World Rugby on developing the tournament model for Rugby World Cup 2027 and contemplate the potential opportunity to bid for Rugby World Cup 2029. Throughout this process, dating back to early 2019, the Australian Government has been in our corner, showing an enthusiastic level of support which has allowed us to demonstrate to our colleagues at World Rugby that Australia is a safe pair of hands with a rolled-gold record of hosting major international events.

“The breadth of the support outlined in the budget today, from investment into tournament delivery, operational support and, crucially, legacy programs for Australia and the Pacific region,  now enables us to illustrate to the World Rugby Council we are ready to bring the tournament back down under.”

Rod Eddington, the Rugby World Cup 2027 bid advisory board chairman, said: “Bringing the world’s third-largest sporting event back to our shores would provide a huge boost to the Australian economy after what has been an incredibly difficult few years for everyone.

“RWC 2027 in Australia would welcome two million attendees, including 200,000 international visitors, delivering $2.5billion in direct and indirect expenditure for the economy and creating 13,300 equivalent FTE jobs. It would also attract 30,000 new participants to the game. This is an unrivalled opportunity to support the Australian economy and grow the game of rugby in Australia and the Pacific.”

Australian minister for sport Richard Colbeck added: “Our support for the RWC 2027 and 2029 events represents an important opportunity to strengthen relationships, particularly with our Pacific neighbours.

“The third-largest sports event in the world, the Rugby World Cup also offers the potential to provide substantial benefits including a much-needed boost to the Australian tourism industry, as well as trade, infrastructure and jobs.”