Rugby is growing in Africa at an impressive rate so it’s no surprise to see that South Africa are looking to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup on home soil. Statistics show that of the two million who opted to take part in the Get into Rugby Programme, over 380,000 of them came from Africa. Not only that, but of the 8.5 million people around the globe who play rugby regularly, over 770,000 of them from Africa. So you could say the Africa is leading the way when it comes to growth.
There has been a huge growth in the sport since England hosted the World Cup and then the following year we saw rugby back in the spotlight at the Summer Olympics. On the back of that Rugby Africa have set about putting into action a 5 year plan in order to enable training courses to take place around the continent that are designed to deliver the Get into Rugby programmes. Hosting the 2023 would be a real boost for Africa as it would in some ways fast track the fastest growing Rugby continent to where they want to be even quicker.
It wouldn’t just be a huge boost to the sport either but a monumental boost for South Africa itself. It would help the country financially and it would be a chance for the nation to show once again just how well they can host a world sporting event of great importance. They did a great job in showcasing South Africa to the world when they hosted the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the 2003 Cricket World Cup and then the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The benefits both financially and in terms of growth would be well received by both the country and the sport itself.
With the country not hosting a Rugby World Cup since back in ’95 when Nelson Mandela famously handed over the trophy to Francois Pienaar, the then Springbok captain, South Africa feel it is again their turn to put on a show for the world to enjoy by playing host. According to Unibet rugy spokesman, South Africa is one of the countries seen as a real force in world rugby too and this should stand them in good stead. Not only that but they have an advantage in that new stadia won’t need to be built, saving huge amounts of money across the board.
South Africa believe they have everything already in place in both a commercial and technical sense in order to make their bid successful. They also have the emotional story to tell too with the 1995 Rugby World Cup being one of the most memorable of all time. The popularity of ruby is growing at a hugely impressive rate across the continent and South Africa already have all the required stadia and the experience of how to host such a huge event. With all that in mind you can certainly see why they look on course to be named hosts and could you really argue against that happening?
