South Africa in Pole Position for 2023 Rugby World Cup

(ATR) South Africa is recommended by the Rugby World Cup Board to host the sport’s showpiece event in 2023.

World Rugby published the results of the evaluation report on Tuesday, revealing that South Africa was a clear choice over France and Ireland.

"This is the first Rugby World Cup host selection to take place following a complete redesign of the bidding process to promote greater transparency and maximize World Rugby's hosting objectives," World Rugby and Rugby World Cup Limited Chairman Bill Beaumont said in a statement.

"I would like to congratulate South Africa on a superb bid and all the bid teams for their dedication and professionalism throughout the process to date. Our colleagues on the World Rugby Council will now meet on 15 November in London to consider the Board’s recommendation and vote to decide the host of Rugby World Cup 2023."

Independent auditors will oversee the Council’s secret ballot. A simple majority out of a total of 39 votes is needed to win the right to host the Rugby World Cup 2023. South Africa, Ireland and France will not take part in the vote.

The Board’s recommendation is expected to be rubber-stamped by the Council though any of the three bids could still end up on top. Neither France nor Ireland have pulled out due to Tuesday’s recommendation by the Board.

South Africa received an overall score of 78.97 percent in the evaluation report, with France at 75.88 and Ireland at 72.25.

"We told the World Rugby Council that we would deliver a triple win tournament when we presented to them last month – a win for the game with record receipts; a win for the fans with an unforgettable tournament in a bucket-list destination and, most importantly, a win for the players with the most athlete-centric event in the tournament’s history," South Africa Rugby CEO Jurie Roux said in a statement.

The South African government threw its full support behind the Rugby World Cup bid, something it did not do for Durban's bid to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The city was stripped of the hosting rights in March due to a lack of organization and financial commitments.

This is South Africa’s fourth consecutive attempt to host a second Rugby World Cup and first since 1995. France last hosted in 2007 while Ireland has never hosted the event.

Japan is hosting the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Written by Gerard Farek

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