USA on course to be named Rugby World Cup host for 2031 and 2033

The US is on course to be named in mid-May as host of the 2031 men’s Rugby World Cup and the women’s event in 2033 with a bid priced at half a billion dollars and support from the Biden White House, executives including World Rugby chief Alan Gilpin said on Thursday.

“We’re not talking to anybody else about Rugby World Cup hosting in 2031 and 2033,” Gilpin said. “It doesn’t mean it’s a done deal … but it means that we strategically believe we can deliver the right outcomes with this hosting plan.”

Australia is in similar dialogue regarding the men’s event in 2027. Asked about reports of problems, Gilpin said: “The short answer is there’ll be more news to come in the next couple of weeks.

“We’re down in Australia from the end of next week, addressing the outstanding issues with with our friends at Rugby Australia. So there’ll be more to come on that. In terms of contingencies, yes, lots of conversations going on around who’s capable of hosting and when and again, those are very strategic conversations rather than a competitive bid process.

“So [Australia] are our preferred candidate for 2027 and we expect to be in good shape in the discussions with them.”

For the US bid, which has shifted from an initial model of hosting the women in 2029 to the hope that a successful men’s event can drive engagement, the next big date is 12 May, when the World Rugby council will meet.

Gilpin spoke to reporters alongside Ross Young, chief executive of USA Rugby, the US bid chair, Jim Brown, and Emily Bydwell, US representative to the World Rugby Women’s Advisory Group.

Gilpin said: “The guys absolutely are making sure that we’ve got the different stakeholders from government through to city and state aligned as much as you can have this