Voting starts in London for World Rugby, but who is likely to win?

The World Rugby Council opened today in London and is to vote this Wednesday (November 15) for the country to host the 2023 World Rugby Cup.

According to sources, South Africa is likely to win. The number of registered players across the continent jumped from 770,000 to over one million in the last year. In 2013, World Rugby’s ‘Get Into Rugby’ initiative attracted 22,000 players. In 2017, the number is 384,000.

In addition, the number of female rugby players in Africa has seen a 50 per cent increase between 2016 and 2017. Now, 20 per cent of rugby players in Africa are women and girls.

Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, APO Group’s CEO, said: “We will devote our efforts to bringing a new dimension to the discipline in Africa and beyond the regional borders.

“In addition to the initiatives we’ll undertake to build momentum and engage and inspire new audiences, we will use media relations to put the spotlight on African rugby and reach thousands of potential fans.”

This surge of interest seems likely to continue with 22,000 schools now including rugby in their curriculums across Africa, up from 20,000 in 2016. It is becoming the world’s largest youth pool with 60 per cent of the continent’s population under the age of 24.

As a result of this spotlight and Africa’s huge potential for the sport, Rugby Africa has partnered up with Africa’s leading media relations consulting firm, the APO Group.

The partnership was formalised by APO Group’s CEO, Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard and the Chairman of Rugby Africa, Abdelaziz Bougja, at the World Rugby’s annual executive council meeting in London yesterday (November 12).

Chairman of Rugby Africa, Abdelaziz Bougja, added: “We are very excited to have APO Group joining us as Official Partner. It was important for us to team up with the ideal partner; a company sharing the values of integrity, respect, tolerance, discipline and passion.”