Steve Brown said that the RFU will "definitely" bid to host an RWC in the next 20 years.GETTY IMAGES
The Rugby Football Union signaled it is "prepared to bid to host the Rugby World Cup again," possibly as early as '31, "on the back of the success of hosting" the '15 tournament, according to Gavin Mairs of the London TELEGRAPH. France won the right to host the 2023 World Cup ahead of South Africa and Ireland "after a controversial bidding process in November last year," while the '27 tournament is expected to be awarded to a country for "development" reasons to grow the game. RFU CEO Steve Brown said that the governing body was prepared to make a "brave and bold" move to host the tournament again and "definitely in the next 20 years." Brown said, "It wouldn't be in the next five years because we need to get ourselves in a good steady place and I wouldn't want to put the union under that much stress as it's quite a stress." The RFU had to put down a host fee of £80M ahead of the 2015 World Cup, but with that figure rising to £120M ($155M) for the '23 tournament, Brown said that a future bid "would likely require help" (TELEGRAPH, 10/1).
