England go it alone for 2015
RFU chairman Martyn Thomas has confirmed that England will make a solo bid to host the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The good news for England is the bid has been supported by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and sports minister Andy Burnham after high-level talks at Downing Street on Wednesday.
Scotland, Wales and Ireland are keen on staging the tournament but none of them have the facilities to do it alone.
Thomas has said England would consider moving some matches to stadiums in the other three home nations.
Thomas said (quote) England will bid for the World Cup,we have certainly had very good discussions with the Welsh in terms of using the facilities they have, particularly the Millennium Stadium but also the Ospreys and maybe the new Cardiff stadium. I believe that rugby is one of the great sports and I also believe we can win the Rugby World Cup bid for this country in 2015
Eight countries have expressed an interest in hosting the 2015 event: Italy, South Africa, Australia, Japan and the four home nations.
RFU chief executive Francis Baron had a cautionary note when he warned that England may withdraw their bid because of “massive financial risks”, saying that the International Rugby Board’s demands for a guaranteed sum in profits had changed the bid process.
We will keep an eye on how things move forward and bring you the news here as it unfolds.
