Phil Kearns to run 2027 Rugby World Cup bid

Phil Kearns has been tasked with steering Australia’s 2027 Rugby World Cup bid, leading a group that includes John Howard, Peter Cosgrove and John Coates.

Wallabies legend Phil Kearns who has been appointed to lead the 2027 Rugby World Cup bid team. Picture: Jane Dempster

As one of only five Wallabies to have claimed two Rugby World Cups, Phil Kearns clearly has the knack of winning the thing, which could be a decidedly useful talent given that he has just been made executive director of Australia’s 2027 World Cup bid.

Kearns’ appointment, announced on Tuesday by Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan, brings at least a temporary halt to his ambitions of becoming RA chief executive, but in many respects his new job could be even more important to the future of the game in this country.

Phil Kearns in action during 1991 World Cup.

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“I thought long and hard about that,” said Kearns about his hopes for the CEO position, which is now reaching the “short list” phase of the RA search. “And who knows what might happen down the track. But I thought this opportunity — which was well-sold to me by Hamish — has the potential to financially save our game forever.

“We are going to put every resource we possibly can into making sure we win this.”

There is no question that McLennan also views the 2027 Cup bid as vital to the survival of the game in Australia and has assembled an extraordinary group of people to form an advisory board for the bidding process.

The board will be chaired by former British Airways chief exe­cutive, Rod Eddington, and includes such luminaries as former prime minister John Howard, former governor-general Sir Peter Cosgrove, International Olympic Committees vice-president John Coates and another two-time World Cup winner, John Eales.

Kearns, pictured in 1999, is one of five Wallabies to have won the World Cup twice. Picture: Grant Turner

In many respects, McLennan could be said to be using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, particularly since Australia is, for the moment, the only candidate for the tournament.

There is, as well, the consideration that by the time 2027 rolls around, the previous three World Cups will all have been held in the northern hemisphere and SANZAAR, which administers southern hemisphere rugby, has made it known Australia is its only candidate.

That said, Russia has indicated it is considering bidding, which seems just a little curious given that one of the conditions of the World Anti-Doping Authority’s (WADA) four-year ban on it for flagrant breaches of the world anti-doping code, announced last December, was that it could not bid for or be given any major international event.

Kearns was sold on the role by Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan. Picture: Jane Dempster

Still, McLennan expects a rival will still emerge from somewhere between now and 2022 when the 2027 host is expected to be announced and he is wanting Kearns — who will start his new role on September 7, reporting to him and Eddington — to ensure there are no slip-ups.

“Phil has an impeccable international reputation both in the corporate sector and with his network of contacts throughout the rugby world,” McLennan said.

“He will be front and centre of the Rugby World Cup bid team and will lead our international relations to put Rugby Australia in the strongest possible position to win the right to host the 2027 showpiece.”

Kearns, as it happens, has already done the maths.

“There are 52 votes around the world, so we have to win 27,” Kearns told The Australian. Not only will he be spreading the word to other rugby nations but also to local, state and federal governments within Australia and to global sponsors and broadcasters.

“What it (the World Cup) did for Japan last year was staggering,” he said. “What it did for us in 2003 was pretty special as well.”

Kearns believes his new role should not disqualify him from continuing as a Fox Sports rugby commentator, a role he has filled for 20 years.

“It might cut into that role a little bit or I might come to a point where I might have to stop completely but it has been a role I have really enjoyed.”