South Africa is set to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup after a recommendation from the sport’s governing body which identified the Rainbow Nation as the “clear leader” ahead of France and Ireland. To some surprise, it won the unanimous approval of the World Rugby board after scoring highest in an exhaustive evaluation report and is expected to be ratified when the World Rugby council votes on 15 November. “Hosting Rugby World Cup 2023 will be a massive boost for our country as well as the game of rugby,” said South Africa Rugby’s chief executive, Jurie Roux, on Tuesday. Significantly, the South Africa bid also successfully allayed fears over political and economic stability. Dick Spring, the chairman of its 2023 bid oversight board, said: “This is certainly not the end of the road.

Source: The Guardian October 31, 2017 11:08 UTC