Rugby chief wants Japan success to rub off

LONDON • World Rugby chief executive officer Brett Gosper believes last year's Rugby World Cup has left a "huge legacy" in Japan and its success should embolden countries to bid for future events.

Speaking as audit giant EY released its report The Economic Impact Of Rugby World Cup 2019, the Australian said: "Japan 2019 was one of the greatest, maybe the greatest, of all World Cups."

EY estimated 46,000 jobs were created or sustained for the tournament and £4.3 billion (S$7.9 billion) - a record for a Rugby World Cup - was generated.

Gosper said Japan's edition exceeded all expectations. "For Japan there is a huge legacy," he added via video call. "There was an uptick in participation at schools, younger audiences on social media and, on TV, 58 million watched Scotland vs Japan."

He said the tournament had attracted swathes of new players to the sport in Asia and also created a new source of income alongside traditional markets.

"The legacy is beyond stadia facelifts, gym equipment and higher participation - the legacy for World Rugby is that it also created the third-biggest broadcast market," he said. "That is a legacy for all rugby because our revenues get pushed around 120 unions."

The 61-year-old said the rugby world had traditionally been reliant on France and Britain and the challenge now was to sustain a third sizeable market. He reckons the success will give World Rugby chiefs confidence that rugby-playing nations with a similar profile can host the tournament.

USA Rugby filed for bankruptcy earlier this year but Gosper said that did not rule the United States out of bidding for the 2027 or 2031 tournaments.

The Chinese market remains elusive but Gosper hopes success at Olympic level - its women's sevens team qualified for Tokyo 2020 - could have a positive knock-on effect.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE