Who should host RWC 2011?

[Iverson]

Recently we have heard the South African RFU say they want to host RWC 2011. With government backing, SA will be going for a cup double, with the Soccer WC in 2010 and RWC in 2011.

But with rugby having grown a lot since the first world cup in 87'. It could be time to take the game's showpiece off to a new part of the world.

 

[dr nick]

agree fully with your last point, but i cant agree on the choice you voted.

firstly i think it would draw massive crowds and support if it was to be held in south africa, but it wouldnt do a lot in terms of exposing the game to developing nations

i just dont think the USA/Canada has enough support base to warrant a RWC being hosted there. there runs a danger of many 4 figure crowds for much of the tournament.

i voted Italy and Spain. Italy are already a part of the six nations and have a very healthy supporter base. games would be easily accesible from other union strongholds such as france, england, ireland, wales and scotland. By joint hosting it with spain, these European travellers could also watch the WC in their own backyard, but the Spanish RU, although they missed qualification this time around, would recieve a massive boost.

 

[Richoagain]

I reckon the USA/Canada might actually be a reasonable idea - there are a couple of hundred thousand registered rugby union players in the USA and it's bigger than you might think in Canada as well.

Whether it's the BEST idea is debatable, but I can think of worse places to hold it.

When was it last in Argentina?

 

[dr nick]

Originally posted by Richoagain
I reckon the USA/Canada might actually be a reasonable idea - there are a couple of hundred thousand registered rugby union players in the USA and it's bigger than you might think in Canada as well.

Whether it's the BEST idea is debatable, but I can think of worse places to hold it.

When was it last in Argentina?

but less than 2000 showed up to watch them qualify when they played spain

 

[Richoagain]

Either way, the playing base is huge - latent support for the world cup is there if you could tap into it.

The extra exposure alone would have an impact.

 

[Iverson]

Well I like to see the US and Canada host it together.

Both countries have got the stadiums. Americans are crazy about sports, and they hosted the 1994 Soccer WC with great success.

At the moment there is up to 100,000 rugby players that play the game, and with more and more high schools starting to start up rugby programs, by the time 2011 comes around there could well be up to 150,000 that play the game if recent trends are anything to go by.

If you add Canada's playing list to that of the US, by 2011 both countries could have well over 200,000 that play the game. If you think about the players that stopped playing years ago and still have a interest in the game, you could be talking about 500,000 people or more that use to play in the last 30 yrs.

The big question is would it be a success. Well according to my point of view what happened to soccer in the US could happen to rugby, though probably not on the same scale but nevertheless the positive effects would be a great boost to the game.

After the soccer world cup, soccer participation rates exploded in the US, there is something like 15 million soccer players in the US now.

So I hope that the USA RFU and Canadian RFU maybe should pair up and place a bid in. Obviously 2011 could be a bit ambitious as I guess some might say 2015 or 2019 would be more appropriate. But I think they should give it a go and try and put a good bid together.

 

[Iverson]

Originally posted by nicko18
but less than 2000 showed up to watch them qualify when they played spain

Thats true but they played in a non-rugby hotbed in Fort Lauderdale Florida and at best guess zero promotion.

A RWC could be different. Way more promotion and lots of dollars to spend. Media outlets like Fox would provide some good media exposure. Americans seem to enjoy their sports. They did get 16,000 to a USA v Springbok game in Houston in 2001.

Plus there has to be thousands of expats in the US, and many would I believe drag their US mates to a couple of games.