The South African Rugby Union’s bid to host the 2015 Rugby World Cup in South Africa got a major boost following meetings with the government on Tuesday.

A joint delegation from SARU and the International Rugby Board (IRB) met sports minister Mr Makhenkesi Stofile and deputy minister Mr Gert Oosthuizen in Cape Town as part of an information-sharing session. The IRB delegation included president Mr Bernard Lapasset and chief executive Mike Miller. SARU were represented by president Mr Oregan Hoskins, Mr Mark Alexander (deputy president) and Mr Rautie Rautenbach (vice president).

SARU is bidding to host either the 2015 or the 2019 Rugby World Cups and is seeking government support for the bid. Interested unions will make their presentations to the IRB in May and a decision on the hosting nations for both tournaments will be announced on July 28, 2009.

“We were delighted with the meeting and very pleased with the government’s expression of support for the South African Rugby union’s bid,” said Mr Lapasset. “A tournament of this size – the third-largest sporting event in the world – is not possible without a close partnership between the government and the rugby union and we were impressed with the enthusiasm and the support the government offered.”

The IRB delegation shared research on the enormous economic impact of hosting a Rugby World Cup – estimated to be worth as much as R28bn – as well as the importance of the government and rugby joining hands in the bidding and hosting process.

“The meeting surpassed my expectations and I was very heartened by the minister’s attitude,” said Mr Oregan Hoskins. “His attitude augurs very well for us and I left the meeting feeling that this was a very important moment for our bid.

“The minister stressed that the infrastructure will be in place at the stadiums and across the country and that, as South Africa is a rugby-mad country, that they would be delighted and honoured to host the World Cup.

“It would be a significant moment to host the tournament on the 20th anniversary of the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa, an event which did so much to assist in the growth of nation-building in the country.”

Source: sarugby.co.za

Tags: Rugby, rugby world cup, saru