England and Japan confirmed as RWC hosts
Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:32
Team England: 2015 Bid members Lawrence Dallaglio, Will Greenwood and Paul Vaughan
After an initial delay, the International Rugby Board confirmed in Dublin on Tuesday that England and Japan will be the host nations for the 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cup respectively.
The 26-man IRB coucil was ultimately forced into a vote to ratify a recommendation from the World Cup board but with a 16-10 final count it was confirmed that England and Japan would be the countries tasked with delivering two showpiece tournaments.
The English Rugby Football Union beat competition from South Africa and Italy after submitting a bid that outlined how England's "low risk, high return" package is projected to generate £300-million for the IRB, who rely on the tournament for 98 percent of their income.
On top of the £80-million (US$131-million) tournament fee, the "mature" UK market is expected to attract a further £220-million in commercial returns from broadcasting, sponsorship and merchandising.
That figure is understood to be at least 20 percent more than the bids from either South Africa or Italy and 50 percent greater than France generated from the 2007 World Cup.
The 2015 World Cup will run from September 4 to October 17, when the final will be played at Twickenham.
Matches will be staged in 10 cities and the 12 stadiums chosen include Wembley, Manchester United's Old Trafford, Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, Liverpool's Anfield and Leeds's Elland Road, while the Millennium Stadium in Wales is the only venue being used outside England.
The last time England hosted the tournament was in 1991, when Will Carling's team were beaten in the Final by Australia.
Hosting the 2015 Rugby World Cup is estimated to be worth £2.1-billion to the British economy.
Developing rugby nation Japan will host the event four years later after their bid, seen as a good progessive movement for encouraging rugby throughout the world, was also accepted and is expected to generate massive profit and attract a record number of viewers for the tournament.
Speaking at the Burlington Hotel in Dublin IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset congratulated all four bidding Unions.
"All the tenders were of a very high standard and each Union demonstrated that they could host an excellent Rugby World Cup. It is a tribute to the health of the Game and the enormous prestige of RWC that the competing bids were so strong," said Lapasset.
"Both Italy and South Africa submitted extensive and compelling tenders. I would like to thank them on behalf of the IRB Council for the quality of their work and their dedication to the process. The Tender Analysis Report and the RWCL Board's recommendation were carefully studied by the Council and their assessment concluded that the selection of England and Japan would provide the best combination of host Unions to drive the ongoing development of the Game worldwide.
"We believe that the succession of England and Japan as host nations for RWC will create new opportunities and help maximise commercial revenues for re-investment in the Game. It is an exciting combination for Rugby World Cup and one which we think will enable the sport to reach developing Rugby markets and therefore contribute to the continued growth of the Game and its values worldwide," added Lapasset.
"The commercial success of RWC is an important element in the progression of our Game and means that developing Rugby markets be considered for the tournament to both reflect and assist the Game’s strategic vision and evolution.
"We are confident that England will deliver a spectacular tournament in 2015 and that Japan, as the first Rugby World Cup host nation in Asia, will mark the beginning of a very exciting chapter in the history of this great tournament. I would like to congratulate both Unions on their selection and the IRB looks forward to working with them on what promise to be two very special Rugby World Cup tournaments," added Lapasset.
The announcement of the RWC 2015 and RWC 2019 Host Unions is the culmination of an extensive tender process that kicked off in August 2008. It is also the first time that two tournaments have been awarded at the same time.
AFP/IRB
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