Sport and Recreation South Africa's (SRSAs) Director General, Mr VP Peterson, recently travelled to Ireland to assist with the South African bid presentation for the 2015/2019 Rugby World Cup.
The bid, drawn up and presented by the South African Rugby Union will, if successful, see the country host either the 2015 or 2019 Rugby World Cup.
The South African government has underwritten the financial guarantees regarding the licensing and hosting fees required by the International Rugby Board (IRB) for the event to be staged in South Africa.
"South Africa stands a very good chance on winning the bid on technical grounds," Mr Peterson said after returning to South Africa. "Given the investment in infrastructure made for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the country already has the facilities for the event."
Before leaving as well as while in Ireland the DG worked with a team from SARU that included several high-profile rugby leaders and ambassadors to help ensure that a winning bid was presented. Countries competing for the right to host the World Cup are England (2015 only), Italy, and Japan.
The outcome of the bid process will be made known on 28 July.
* Listen to Morne Du Plessis presenting South Africa's bid at this link: http://www.irb.com/mm/Audio/NewsMedia/0/duplessisedit_7678.mp3.
Issued by: Sport and Recreation South Africa
22 May 2009
Source: Sport and Recreation South Africa (http://www.sars.gov.za)
