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World Rugby Vice-Chairman Agustín Pichot has said Rugby World Cup 2027 in Argentina will cost US$200 million. The former Pumas captain is working behind the scenes on turning the dream into reality.
Argentina is the only Semi Finalist in Rugby World Cup history not to have hosted a Rugby World Cup. Tournament hosting has gone back and forth among traditional Tier 1 unions. Australia, England, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales have featured in hosting two or more World Cups.
South Africa is the loan shark in this regard. The country hosted in 1995. It is not for a lack of trying though. South Africa lost bids to host the tournament in 2011, 2015 and 2019. It is now bidding against both France and Ireland to host in 2023.
Japan will host next. The Asian powerhouses lost out in their 2011 bid which resulted in alterations to the process. Their turn is in 2019. Pichot had sought to follow Japan but concluded that the structure and voting behavior would make it seriously unlikely to go from one new host in 2019 to another in 2023.
2027
Pichot told Santiago Lilo of Abertura that 2027 has firmly become the target. “That’s what we aim for. I met with President Mauricio Macri recently and he was very interested. I also spoke with Juan Manuel Urtubey (Salta Governor), an important figure in Argentine politics.”
“I think it is one of the few events of global relevance after the Olympic Games and the Soccer World Cup. Now, do we have the infrastructure to organize a Rugby World Cup? Yes, all we have to do is upgrade some existing stadiums, and embrace all the tourists that are going to come to spend in Argentina. It’s a win-win. There is almost nothing to do.”
Rugby Stadium
In order to host Argentina need not construct a rugby stadium. Pichot declared “it is not necessary. The good thing about rugby is that it is for this reason that everybody wants to host. The country makes US$200 million and imagine the amount of people coming in and the profit it would generate later for the economy. Also, what it means as a country brand.”
Getting From A to B
Argentina is the 8th largest country in the world. The country has an excellent bus network and cities are well connected via plane. An influx of visitors for a Rugby World Cup, though, requires careful, strategic planning.
“In the next 20 days, I’m going to meet with Minister Dietrich to discuss important transport infrastructure issues. Also to understand a little about how to get to that: mobilizing a lot of people to go from one seat to another by using public transport. This is not done overnight.”
Different models have been used by different hosts. England 2015 was heavily focused on London. A record 17 matches were played in the British capital. In comparison Manchester hosted just one match. It was not an English, but a Welsh, city which provided the supporting role as Cardiff hosted 8 matches.
Cardiff also hosted a Quarter Final in 2007. France, though, was far less centralized than England 2015. All 10 French venues hosted either 3 or 4 pool matches each. This again, is significantly different to Australia 2003 which allocated pools to venues.
Where to Play
Argentina 2027 thereby has a variety of models to consider. The north is far more populated than the south. This cuts down significantly on distances. The northern half of the country would be used for most, albeit not all, matches.
Supporting Buenos Aires would be Córdoba, Rosario and Mendoza. The four are Argentina’s largest cities. La Plata, Tucumán, Mar del Plata, Salta, Santa Fé, San Juan and Resistencia would potentially join them.
Of significant importance is that all of the aforementioned cities have hosted Pumas matches. Moreover strong relations exist with provincial governments to faciliate the process. A case in point being that Mendoza recently was allocated Argentina vs Australia.
Efforts have filtered down to the Argentina XV. This year the national ‘A’ side faced Uruguay in Bahía Blanca, Brazil in Ushuaia and the USA in Comodoro Rivadavia. Puerto Madryn also hosted a test vs Wales in 2006 and Jujuy will host Argentina vs Georgia in June.
Finding a way to have teams play in different cities and linking them together is entirely plausible. The country is ready.
