Rugby Australia will use Rugby Championship success as proof of concept in 2027 Rugby World Cup hosting bid
A sellout Gold Coast crowd this weekend looms as the golden ticket in Rugby Australia’s bid to host the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
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A SELLOUT Gold Coast crowd this weekend looms as the golden ticket in Rugby Australia’s bid to host the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
The eyes of the rugby world will turn to Cbus Super Stadium on Saturday night for the Gold Coast’s second Rugby Championship double-header this month.
And Wallabies 1999 World Cup winner and Rugby Australia board member Daniel Herbert says the landmark Test rugby venture will be an important proof of concept for the governing body when it goes to the table in January next year with a bid for 2027.
“For us it’s a dress rehearsal for the Rugby World Cup – and we’ve demonstrated we cannot only host major events but there’s an appetite for them,” Herbert said.
“It’s a proof of concept and there’s demand for it. We can put on a good show and the economic impact will be massive.”
Rugby fans have mobilised in their tens of thousands in support of the Rugby Championship, which returns to the Gold Coast on Saturday with Australia taking on Argentina and South Africa and New Zealand reprising their storied rivalry.
“This weekend is a sellout … last week was only a few hundred shy of a sellout,” Herbert said.
“It’s been fantastic, not just for (Australia), but for all the other countries that have been involved, to be able to stage it the way we have and be accepted by the public has been fantastic.”
All general admission tickets have been sold ahead of Saturday’s showpiece event, with only a handful of corporate tickets still available.
‘What it does show is there’s a real appetite for rugby on the Gold Coast,” Herbert said.
“With our pitch for the Rugby World Cup it’s important we can show there’s a real local demand for the product.
“The rugby world’s eyes were on Townsville last week and they’ll be on the Gold Coast this week.”
The 2027 Rugby World Cup would welcome 20 competing nations and 200,000 international visitors for seven weeks of competition.
Rugby Australia estimates a total economic output of $2.5bn.
Australia most recently hosted the 2003 Rugby World Cup. That “Golden Era” Wallabies team featured prominently in the hearts and minds of the host country as the Rugby World Cup delivered a spectacle worthy of following Sydney 2000.
With Brisbane locked in to host the 2032 Olympics, Herbert believes a 2027 Rugby World Cup berth would once again put Australia front and centre on the world sporting stage.
“A World Cup is life-changing. It’s the Olympics for people in rugby and the event itself, there’s nothing quite like it,” he said.
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Originally published as Rugby Australia will use Rugby Championship success as proof of concept in 2027 Rugby World Cup hosting bid
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