Lessons from the SA bid and how France won and SA lost

Before the bidding process, it was well known that WR was dedicated to expand the game. WR have been wanting to enlarge the number of rugby nations. This trend set in quickly after the adoption of professionalism. So it is nothing new.


SA won the right to host through merit. Yet this merit was ignored and shortcut because it does not fit the expansion trend. France rode the expansion trend and won.

There were two ways for SA to win: make the cut during the first round, finish first after the first round or face Ireland during the second round.

Ireland hosting would have been a sign of opening but remains part of the English block that constitutes the core of rugby nations.

As WR strives to bring in nations outside the anglosphere, Ireland would have come as an equivalent to SA and the WR recommandation would have been followed.

This also explains how the englisk block voted: to attract new nations, it matters for the english block not to vote as one. The move can not be afforded, 9 points are too much to hope winning without the english block support so votes were distributed evenly, one for each bid. That way, the english block picked no side and left the election open to be won.


France took the path of expansion. They embraced WR's wish to attract new nations and introduced their bid as a way to fund the expansion.

This is what allowed them to secure the first spot after the first round. They did it by securing the votes of all areas implied in the expansion to the exception of the US (that went for Ireland)

France would not have won if they had faced Ireland because of the english block during the second round.

On the other hand, SA is the face of the failure to expand rugby. Despite being an african nation, they have little contact with other african nations (France provides better prospects) and more than anything, the failure of expanding rugby to their own population.


The trend is not going to change as every newly added nation will join the expansion side.

WR lost the control over the voting process as soon as SA was put second. The SH block was too strong to let Ireland in but not enough strong to counter balance the expansion block.


Nations voted their interest, they disregarded the merit of the SA bid because it does not fit their interest. SA rugby is a failure to expand and they embody the expansion of rugby.

 Well, you said it. We were the best option on merit. Merit on the pre determined criteria decided on by WR. Then WR decided to ignore their own merit system and rather went with France, for whatever reason/s. What a farce? STUPID!!!