England’s bid to host the 2007 Rugby World Cup looks set to run into opposition from southern hemisphere nations over the proposed dates for the tournament, it emerged here on Tuesday.
Francis Baron, chief executive of the RFU, acknowledged following a meeting with Australian officials that there were likely to be ”differences” over the timing of the event.
England’s bid for the showpiece would see the World Cup staged in June and July — in the middle of the lucrative southern hemisphere program of Super 12 and Tri Nations matches. Though refusing to give precise details of the Australian Rugby Union’s reaction to the scheduled slot in the calendar for the tournament, Baron admitted he was expecting disagreement.
The RFU had been unable to consult southern hemisphere nations before tabling its World Cup bid, he added. ”We in undertaking this exercise had to undertake great confidentiality, so we were not able to consult with our colleagues around the world,” Baron said.
”We had to look at it almost from our own perspective and there will be differing opinions.
”There will be, as we found out this morning from our discussions with the ARU, some different perspectives on what we originally put in place,” he said. ARU officials declined to comment on the discussions.
Baron and his top aides were in Sydney as part of a whistle stop, nine-nation world tour to drum up support for the English bid, which faces a rival French bid.
England have proposed a radical shake-up for the 2007 tournament, one 16-team event for established superpowers and another 32-team tournament for the game’s minnows.
France’s bid is expected to use the traditional 20-team, single competition format.
Baron said the current competition contained too many mismatches, particularly in the pool rounds, where strong nations trounced weaker opponents. He said such games were not only unattractive to sponsors and spectators, they also limited the number of teams that could take part in the tournament.
The International Rugby Board (IRB) will decide next month whether it backs the restructure, and is due to pick a winner between England and France next April.
Baron said maintaining the status quo would limit future growth and may see some members of the international rugby community disappear altogether. ”The IRB has already made it clear that there are major problems in a number of unions, they’re teetering on the brink — if the game as a whole doesn’t buy into a solution, I believe you’re going to see a number of developing companies go under financially,” he said.
Citing Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Russia and Canada as unions facing dire financial straits, Baron accused the IRB of being slow to respond to the needs of developing nations and urged the game’s major powers to push the issue.
”We’re trying to act as a catalyst, but we can’t do it all by ourselves,” he said.
RFU operations director Terry Burwell rejected criticism the English plan was elitist since the expanded scale of the tournament would prevent smaller nations, such as New Zealand, from hosting it.
”The format is flexible in terms of stadia; any country that can host the (current) world cup could host this,” he said. – Sapa-AFP