RUGBY NEWS:JAPAN IS close to securing enough votes to secure the right to host the rugby World Cup in 2015 or 2019, the country's bid committee chairman believes.
England look likely to stage the 2015 tournament with Japan favourites for 2019 after organisers recommended the countries to the International Rugby Board (IRB) last month.
South Africa and Italy have also tendered bids but Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) named England, who bid only for the 2015 tournament, and Japan as its preferred hosts for the next two World Cups.
“We’re close to the 14 votes we need,” Japan’s bid chairman Nobby Mashimo said yesterday. “We have 10 votes we can pretty much count on.”
The Dublin-based IRB will announce the hosts for the 2015 and 2019 tournaments after a meeting on July 28th.
A report conducted by Deloitte calculated that the World Cup could generate over €2.32 billion in economic benefits for the host nation.
Japan were narrowly beaten by New Zealand in the voting for the 2011 tournament and were expected to be front-runners to host the 2015 edition.
However, Japanese officials have expressed satisfaction at RWCL’s recommendation to bring the World Cup to Asia for the first time in 2019.
