The people have spoken. The response has been emphatic. Since news broke that Spain want to host the 2035 men’s World Cup, there has been a deluge of support – rightly so.
Imagine a final at the redeveloped, iconic, 105,000-capacity Nou Camp in Barcelona. Yes, please. It ticks all the boxes, but it might have to be part of a shared event.
Italy have been waiting patiently for their moment too, as a fixture in the establishment these days. And Portugal’s potential was there for all to see when their squad came home to a hero’s welcome at Lisbon airport and national fervour after their stirring deeds at the 2023 tournament in France.
Spain’s interest in bidding has hardly polarised opinion, with anecdotal evidence suggesting an approval rating north of 95 per cent. Fans want it and the game needs it.
Firstly, let’s tackle the elephant in the room. There is similar ambition in the Gulf, where the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are ready to present a shiny manifesto founded on under-used, modern arenas and colossal profits. No thanks. While every other sport is beating a path to their door, rugby should do no such thing if it has any regard for its much-trumpeted core values.
Even if the authorities won’t take the moral high ground when it comes to human rights, as they certainly should, they will be mindful of a potentially insurmountable obstacle to a World Cup in that part of the world. It would have to be a mid-winter tournament due to the fierce desert heat and World Rugby may struggle to muster sufficient funds to pay off the leagues for the massive inconvenience of parking a tank on their lawn, in the middle of the domestic season.
Barcelona’s Nou Camp (pictured) and Real Madrid’s Estadio Santiago Bernabeu could be used for matches if Spain host the 2035 Rugby World Cup
The next two Rugby World Cups will be held in Australia and the United States of America
This column’s enquiries have revealed that strategic thinking in the corridors of power could play into the hands of the popular Spanish bidders. The feeling is that gone are the days when a country would be expected to invest enormous sums in myriad building projects to support an attempt to secure hosting rights, so having a ready-made stock of modern stadia and suitable infrastructure around them is a must.
In that regard, it is highly significant that Spain and Portugal, along with Morocco, are preparing to host the football World Cup in 2030. All the hard work for that global spectacle will mean they have jumped through most of the necessary hoops before rugby’s authorities even begin carefully auditing the competing bids, within the next two years.
There is an acute awareness at World Rugby of the need to grow the footprint of their sport beyond its traditional heartlands. With that in mind, it is understood that officials are open to the idea of joint bids, in order to open up new frontiers. This would work in favour of an Italian-Iberian plan, along with a future venture into South America, where Argentina’s status among the global elite is enhanced by the rise of Uruguay and Chile, and latent potential in Brazil.
In due course, it is thought that a collective bid from those parts would be well received, as would a joint campaign by the home nations – on the understanding that Ireland cannot realistically hope to go it alone, as they tried to do before. The event, now up to 24 teams, has grown beyond the scope of the smaller nations, which is why it is difficult to imagine it ever returning to New Zealand.
As for South Africa – a larger country with an array of suitable stadia – they have obvious pedigree as a rugby superpower, but the government would struggle to cope with the financial guarantees which are expected now. There are infrastructure problems which mean that, 30 years after last staging the global gathering, prospects of it returning there in the foreseeable future are remote.
Japan are enthusiastic about serving as hosts again after the successful tournament there in 2019 and, with an eye on expansion in Asia, World Rugby are very enthusiastic about that scenario. So, all in all, quite the queue is forming, for the hosting rights for 2035 and beyond.
Providing the USA can deliver a strong revenue return in 2031, the path is clear for brave decisions to be made, rather than just reverting to a ‘banker’ option – England or France. Such is the backlog of countries with a strong hosting case, shared bids are the answer. With six pools of four the new format, Italy, Spain and Portugal could have two each, then quarters split between the Iberian neighbours, semis in Rome and Milan, and a classic final in Barcelona.
That’s 2035 sorted. Then head down to South America in 2039 – with the key knockout fixtures in Argentina but a decent scattering of pool fixtures in neighbouring rugby countries.
Four years later, go back to Japan, but consider taking some games to new territories; perhaps Seoul, Hong Kong and Singapore would fit the bill.
It is all about spreading the message and growing the game. This is the best way to do it.
Spain have qualified for the 2027 edition of the competition and the nation is a growth market
Finally… some good news
Visiting Sixways Stadium last Thursday was an up-lifting experience. English rugby has some good news for a change.
The Warriors are emerging from financial ruin and coming back to professional life in the Championship. There has been some opposition and carping, as the West Midlands club are being allowed back into the second tier, rather than being dumped at the foot of the pyramid, but if they are committed to paying off all rugby debts, what is the problem?
Any complaints about different treatment of other clubs in the distant past is a red herring argument, as the landscape has changed so fundamentally.
English rugby needs viable, vibrant hotbeds beyond the tiny elite and Worcester can be one of them again. They will instantly transform the Championship with their fine facilities and established local support. Good luck to them.
However, the rugby map still has glaring gaps. To further enhance the division and the whole sport, it would be ideal for franchise bidders to emerge in untapped areas such as the south coast or East Anglia – where Brighton and Norwich have vast potential as rugby hubs.
A few years ago, this column suggested that Trailfinders take their strong brand away from Ealing to one of these locations and it antagonised the club owner, but the plan would have strategic merit.
What about York or Merseyside or Essex? These are places where the game can thrive, if the local business community can find the funds and the vision.
Worcester have been cleared to return to professional rugby in an expanded Championship
English rugby needs viable, vibrant hotbeds beyond the tiny elite and Worcester, led by CEO Stephen Vaughan (left), can be one of them again
When disaster strikes
Harlequins’ 62-0 Champions Cup humiliation at the hands of Leinster on Saturday was a disastrous result for the London club and the tournament.
It was a mismatch which brutally exposed the need for another urgent overhaul of what is supposed to be an elite event but is often no such thing these days.
The trouble is; organisers keep fiddling around with it and nothing has stopped the sense of inexorable decline. But to have eight of the 10 Premiership clubs involved from the outset is palpably a nonsense which goes against the whole notion of striving to qualify for something high-class and special.
It has become bloated by the fact that so many nationalities are involved and there has to be a big enough pie to ensure everyone has a slice, due to rugby’s perennial problem of needing to fill the calendar, to make ends meet.
Less should be more, especially in the Champions Cup; cut it from 24 to 16 teams and make it truly elite again.
Meanwhile, Munster’s epic victory at La Rochelle has at least disrupted the usual routine of top French sides and Leinster slugging it out for the tainted prize, but that will still become the equation in due course.
Unless Toulon can upset Toulouse by the Med next weekend, it’s heading towards Bordeaux v Toulouse in one semi, Leinster v Northampton in the other and a wildly-predictable decider between Leinster and Toulouse, again.
Leinster beat Harlequins in a one-sided contest at Croke Park in the Investec Champions Cup
Last Word
Marcus Smith was powerless to turn the tide in Dublin and his Lions tour hopes appear to be hanging by a thread.
In fact, his ability to operate at full-back may be the only factor keeping the Quins playmaker in contention.
Scotland captain Finn Russell remains the front-runner to wear No 10 in the Test series Down Under this summer and, behind him, Sam Prendergast enhanced his prospects with a masterful performance at Croke Park.
The English visitors were so abject that the fixture should be discounted as a meaningful guide to selection for the British and Irish mission – and Prendergast faltered during the Six Nations.
However, Andy Farrell sees him as the blue-eyed boy and he will surely make the cut. That leaves one fly-half place up for grabs and, at this stage, Fin Smith is ahead of Marcus, while Owen Farrell might be selected for his experience and pedigree.
Another Irishman, Jack Crowley, boosted his hopes by guiding Munster to their famous win across the Channel – with his late drop goal proving to be the decisive act.
Marcus Smith has two league games left, against Sale and Leicester, to push himself back into the mix, before the Lions squad is named on May 8.
He will need to dominate head-to-heads against George Ford and Handre Pollard – so he will need his Quins pack to help him have any chance of claiming a seat on the plane.