At 3.15pm on Wednesday, the integrity of the process through which the host country of Rugby World Cup 2023 is selected‚ and more broadly of rugby governance‚ will be on display. The rectitude of rugby’s leadership will be undermined if any name other than "SA" emerges from an envelope in London. If SA‚ the preferred candidate based on the recommendation by an independent panel of experts after an exhaustive analysis of the bids‚ does not win‚ finding bidders in future might be difficult. The Olympics and football World Cup have been marred by accusations of nefarious bidding processes and rugby has endured similar corridor assertions. By making the bids transparent and the findings of the evaluation committee public‚ World Rugby has challenged its membership council to vote purely on technical merits. The potential cost of putting on a World Cup is large, as are the benefits. Because of the complex nature of presenting the third-biggest global sporting event‚ World Rugby has tried ...
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