Representatives of SA’s Rugby World Cup 2023 bid committee were left reeling in London on Wednesday after France was awarded the hosting rights to the event. France beat bids from Ireland and SA and will stage the tournament for a second time following its hosting of the tournament in 2007. Ireland dropped out in the first round after securing only eight votes, with France taking 18 and SA 13. In the second round France won 24 votes and SA only garnered 15 votes. SA Rugby said it was "bitterly disappointed" at the decision by the World Rugby Council to overturn a recommendation that SA should host the 2023 Rugby World Cup and instead voted for France to host the tournament in a secret ballot. "We are bitterly disappointed at this decision and would like to apologise to the people and government of SA for raising their hopes‚" said Mark Alexander‚ SA Rugby president. "We did everything in our power to bring the tournament to SA and we expected to have that right confirmed today [Wedn...
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