SA Rugby is unlikely to bid for the hosting rights of the 2027 or 2031 World Cup tournaments because the country cannot afford it.

According to a report in Rapport newspaper, South Africa can no longer afford to host the tournament and it wouldn’t make sense to bid again after their unsuccessful bid to host the 2023 World Cup.

Despite the Rugby World Cup Limited board’s initial evaluation report that identified South Africa as the preferred candidate to host the 2023 tournament, the World Rugby Council voted for France, who received 24 votes to South Africa’s 15 in the second round of voting.

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‘The government will not currently be able to secure the guarantee of R2-billion, which was last required by World Rugby,’ a source told Rapport when asked if SA Rugby could bid again.

‘Not now with the state of the economy, and especially not with what the economy will look like after the Covid-19 pandemic.’

Apart from the 2023 World Cup snub, SA Rugby’s bids to host the 2011, 2015 and 2019 events were also unsuccessful.

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