Oberholzer Admits World Rugby Will Not Profit From SA Or New Zealand World Cup
It appears that SA Rugby has given up on the prospect of one day hosting another Rugby World Cup, as SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer confirmed, stating that World Rugby needs to do what is in the best interests of World Rugby.
South Africa has only ever hosted the Rugby World Cup on one occasion, that was in their inaugural tournament, back in 1995, when the host nation went on to famously win the William Webb Ellis Trophy.
Since then, South Africa has lost out on several bids, with the latest being a bid to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup, being narrowly pipped by France to host rugby’s biggest spectacle.
South Africa has not expressed interest in hosting future World Cups, and that stance is likely to remain for the foreseeable future, with Oberholzer echoing the sentiment of SA Rugby President Mark Alexander, who said something similar towards the end of 2025.
“It is a challenge for us,” said Oberholzer, “The Rugby World Cup is the only revenue stream for World Rugby that must fund the entire ecosystem, and each member gets some funding out of the Rugby World Cup…
“So World Rugby must take the World Cup to places where they can make the most money and to go where there will be support from local and national governments,” Oberholzer added.
With Australia set to host the 2027 Rugby World Cup and the USA confirmed to host the 2031 edition, there were murmurs that South Africa might launch a bid to host the 2035 Rugby World Cup. It appears Oberholzer has stopped that idea dead in its tracks.
World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin has revealed that rugby’s governing body might consider a return to Europe for 2035 – with Spain officially announcing their bid while Japan attempts to host their second tournament following the success of 2019 with a bid of its own.
In the Middle East – Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – are said to be lining up a bid with a view to hosting in 2035.
Oberholzer pointed out the widening economic and commercial gap for a country like South Africa in comparison to its counterparts around the globe.
“If you compare us to Europe, I cannot see that the money will ever be the same generated out of South Africa that you will generate out of Europe or in the future, in the Middle East,” Oberholzer continued.
“It is a World Rugby decision and not a SA Rugby decision, and World Rugby will drive World Cups to where they believe they can make the most money. We all have to understand that,” he said sternly.
“You cannot host a World Cup, make less money, and want the biggest slice of the cake when it comes to the annual grant that you get from World Rugby, so it is about the income generation to feed the entire rugby system worldwide.”
Oberholzer mentioned that New Zealand found itself in the same boat as South Africa from an economic standpoint and that both nations might not be able to host the tournament, something from which they have had a perspective shift.
“I think we have moved away from the philosophy that everyone must get an equal chance to host a World Cup,” he said.
“New Zealand and South Africa will not make the money out of a World Cup that World Rugby needs. It’s not a negative on us; rather, it is what is most important for the best interests of World Rugby.”
Although they may not secure the opportunity to host a future Rugby World Cup, Oberholzer confirmed that SA Rugby is currently in its strongest financial position in years.
“We are in a very good space at this moment, both on and off the field. Of the 12 tier one nations, we’re the only one that is going to show a bit of a profit,” admitted Oberholzer.
“It is a system and the system must work.”
“If the Springbok team does not perform, we won’t have commercial money. If we don’t have commercial money, we can’t feed the system from the bottom to ensure that the players keep coming through the system,” he added.
“The majority of our funds go back to our unions to feed the system. We’re probably in our best space since Covid, and we are fortunate that we are in a stable position at this moment in time.”
