Why South Africa and New Zealand will never host a World Cup again
INTERVIEW: South Africa may not have lost its appetite for hosting a World Cup, but the likelihood of the two most successful teams in the game ever hosting another global event appears slim to zero.
South Africa (four-time Webb Ellis Cup holders) and New Zealand (three) are the only back-to-back winners of the game’s biggest showpiece.
Australia (1991 and 1999) and England (2003) are the only other countries to win the tournament.
However, off the field, the two most dominant forces in the game are playing second fiddle to the cash-flush countries around the globe.
New Zealand hosted the inaugural tournament in 1987 and again in 2011.
South Africa hosted in 1995, their debut year in the global showpiece. Their victories were 1995, 2007, 2019 and 2023.
World Cup hosting rights are locked in for Australia (2027) and the United States (2031), with World Rugby actively pursuing a strategy of taking the tournament to new markets for financial growth and expanding the game.
World Rugby launched the process for the selection of the host nation for the 2035 World Cup, kicking off in October 2035, in September last year.
The final appointment is expected by November 2027.
Rian Oberholzer, Chief Executive Officer of the South African Rugby Union, admitted that ‘financial constraints will make it impossible for either SA or NZ to host another event.
“It is a challenge for us,” Oberholzer told a broad-ranging media briefing, with Rassie Erasmus and his entire Springbok coaching panel in attendance.
“The World Cup is the only revenue stream for World Rugby,” the SARU boss added.
“It must fund the game’s entire ecosystem.”
Oberholzer was unequivocal that World Rugby will take the tournament where they can make the biggest profit.
* (Article will continue below Rian Oberholzer interview …..)
“They must go where there will be support from local and national government,” he added.
“I can never see that the same money can be generated in [hosting the tournament in] South Africa, as it can in Europe, or maybe somewhere in the Middle East.
“It is a World Rugby decision and not an SA decision.
“World Rugby will drive World Cups to where they believe they can make the most money, and we all have to understand that.
“You cannot complain and ask for a World Cup in your country, make less money, and then want the biggest slice of the cake when it comes to the annual grant that we get from World Rugby.”
Oberholzer reiterated that it is about generating finances to feed the game’s entire system.
“I think we have moved away from the philosophy that everybody must get an equal chance to host a World Cup,” Oberholzer said.
“New Zealand and South Africa will not make the money out of a World Cup that World Rugby needs.
“I don’t think it’s a negative on us.
“It is more what is more important for the best interest of rugby.”
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