England offers more riches, more possibilities, a fatter bottom line. Given that two buttons is all that some unions can manage to rub together in these straitened times, the returns from a World Cup staged in England cannot be ignored. Nor will they be.
The guaranteed payback into International Rugby Board coffers is £80 million. And with a fair wind, it might expect to generate double that from all sales, minus costs. England, meanwhile, from ticket sales, might expect to plough back £15 million, perhaps more, into grass-roots rugby.
Why does money matter so much? Simple. It is the motor that drives the game worldwide. The IRB will be taking something of a financial hit from the 2011 tournament in New Zealand, not least because of lower television revenue. Money was always going to be a priority. All the more so in credit-crunch days.
Of course, all four bidding countries – Italy, Japan and South Africa will follow England through the door to make their presentations – have agreed to underwrite the £80 million guarantee, but England offer a more well-endowed market in which broadcasters and sponsors thrive.
They have more bums to put on seats, too, with a commitment to hit three million ticket sales, an improvement by 30 per cent on France’s record of getting people through the turnstiles. Impressive stuff, but only if they can pull it off.
The Rugby Football Union held off competition from South Africa, Italy and Japan to receive the endorsement from Rugby World Cup Limited.
Japan have been recommended as hosts for the 2019 World Cup while the final decision will be made by the IRB’s council on July 28.
RFU chairman Martyn Thomas said: “The RFU is delighted that Rugby World Cup Limited has decided to recommend England to the IRB Council as the host for RWC 2015.
“When we presented to the council in May we said that in the current difficult economic environment we could deliver a low-risk, high-return tournament that would leave a lasting legacy for the global game.
England lost a huge amount of face when they bid for the 2007 Rugby World Cup, which went to France, getting only one independent vote despite spending great chunks of money travelling the world to win favour and influence people. The people – all bar the Canadians –snubbed them. This time England have cut to the chase, and are all the better for it.
Might is right has always been a refrain in rugby that has proven difficult to refute. True, there will be subtlety and grace and fun there, too, crucial elements of the Rugby Football Union bid, but when England flex their commercial muscle, the rest of the rugby world can do little but sit up and take note.
England’s ambitions of staging the 2015 Rugby World Cup received a massive boost on Tuesday when tournament organisers recommended their bid to the International Rugby Board. More information in http://www.9ico.com