‘We will die if everyone stays on his own side’: Next RWC decision will show the world what rugby wants to be

Even if the French never quite got the hang of the 2023 wave of visitors wanting to eat and drink in prodigious amounts at odd times of the day whilst walking and without etiquette, the country itself provided brilliance and diversity on tour.

French adventurer Sylvain Tesson put it best when he wrote: “France is a paradise inhabited by people who think they’re in hell.” But the key part of that is the paradise; one forgets the sour attitudes of the average native.

So it is a Malbec-soaked Andes over the dry and hungry Gulf? The problem is the worthy Latin American trio of rugby stalwarts lack the votes, and are not seen as an investment magnet.

Despite being considered the ‘preferred candidate’ last time, four-time winner and perennial powerhouse South Africa lost out to France after the Asian vote switched in a process SARU CEO Jurie Roux (no stranger to odd votes) called ‘opaque’ and marred by the subsequent conviction of World Rugby vice-president (or president of vice) Bernard Laporte on corruption charges.

To win, France promised a net revenue return to World Rugby of $453 million, dwarfing South Africa’s guarantee. According to the French Ministry of Sport and an Ernst & Young report it commissioned, the French government committed $75 million and generated $90 million in added tax revenue from almost $2 billion in tournament-related spend by domestic fans and about 425,000 international visitors; a net boon to France of $941 million which will stick in the craw like foie gras biltong of Saffas who thought they were going to celebrate Siya Kolisi raising the Cup in Cape Town like it was 1995 with better hair.

The projections of profit from the 2027 and 2031 Cups by World Rugby are $687 million and $907 million, respectively, but only if current trajectories of growth are maintained.

Is it only about the money? Does the sport owe a duty of respect, a heritage tax, or even a makeup for how France won the money war with South Africa it lost on the pitch?

A fortnight or month driving up the Wild Coast or wine-tasting by horseback in the Boland or seeing the best game parks in the world up north or conducting a curry taste competition at the Rocks or hunting in the Karoo or abseiling off Table Mountain or a hike in the Drakensberg or going very large in Durban or visiting world heritage sites of renown would not dent the wallet the way one meal in Lyon with too many stars did last year; plus the land is rugby mad.

An abiding memory of New Zealand in 2011 was how thoroughly into it both islands were; suffused and intoxicated and well-versed and happy about the rugby pilgrims on arrival. South Africa would have all of that, plus a far larger hospitality suite. If this is to be, SARU will need to become even more preferred than preferred, satisfy security concerns, and do the weaseling, jackling, cleaning, and set pieces of the boardroom and smoke-filled salons as well as it navigates the game between the lines on the field. Early signs are positive.

French candidate for World Rugby chairman, Abdelatif Benazzi, is being seconded by SARU. Benazzi says rugby faces an existential crisis if it fails to find new markets and bring more cash into the game. “All the federations, even the historic ones, [are] in trouble with their revenues,” he told BBC Sport.

“Rugby is in trouble around the world. We will die if everyone stays on his own side. We have to think collectively. You could see the paradox at the last Rugby World Cup. … It is maybe third in the world behind the soccer World Cup and the Olympics. We saw one and a half billion watching, but … the income is not enough for such a popular sport. But we won’t sell our rugby and lose our values.”

However, Benazzi supports Qatar making a bid for the Nations Championship finals, in line with his global pitch to the Council.