Australia Pulls Bid To Host Rwc 2015
Australia has withdrawn its bid to host the Rugby World Cup in 2015 with the Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O’Neill citing Europe as the logical destination for the tournament.
O’Neill said Europe was the logical next destination given New Zealand will host the event in 2011.
The removal of Australia from the list of bidding countries enhances England’s chances of landing the 2015 World Cup bid although their rivals still include Japan, Italy and South Africa, plus Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
O’Neill said: ‘I think it’s impossible for New Zealand to produce the same financial result that 2007 hosts France did.
‘So it’s not too difficult to conclude that the World Cup has to go back to the northern hemisphere in 2015.’
The International Rugby Board (IRB) will vote on the hosts for both the 2015 and 2019 World Cups on 28th July.
O’Neill added Australia would back Japan’s bid for 2019 if they decided against running themselves.
The ARU is currently debating whether it can commit to hosting the 2019 tournament because of the financial guarantees demanded by the IRB.
