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World Cup bid under threat from Australia
ENGLAND'S hopes of hosting the next Rugby League World Cup received a setback yesterday when Australia revealed they are preparing a counter-bid for the tournament scheduled for 2013.
Buoyed by the news that this year's World Cup has netted a profit of Aus$5m (2.2m), the Australian Rugby League are keen to build on the successes of the events of the last five weeks.
The move was announced after a meeting of the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) in Brisbane where chairman Colin Love revealed the Australians were keen to stage the World Cup again.
"Over the next few months Australia will put a bid together and then the RLIF will look at both bids and make a decision from there," said Love.
The Australians have reservations about the next World Cup going back to Europe following England's dismal showing in this tournament and the lingering memories of the 2000 World Cup in Britain which lost around 1m.
However, Richard Lewis, the executive chairman of the Rugby Football League and RLIF deputy chairman, remains confident he will be able to land the World Cup in a joint bid with France.
"We do need to make sure we have the necessary Government support in place before we submit our bid for 2013 but I am sure we can make the next World Cup at least as successful as this one has been," said Lewis, who dismissed suggestions that the English public might struggle to support the tournament given the national team's miserable show in Australia.
"Although some of the performances haven't been as strong as we would have liked it has been a successful event from a Northern Hemisphere point of view," he added.
"I don't think it will be difficult to sell the World Cup to the fans.
"International competition is the pinnacle of the sport and it would be nice to exact revenge next year in the Four Nations. That's something we have to plan for and seek to achieve."
Viewing figures are seen as a telling barometer of the popularity of a sporting event in Australia and World Cup organisers and broadcasters have been delighted by the results so far with 5m viewers across the country's five state capital cities. Only one of the highlights packages shown on the BBC failed to attract 1m viewers while the semi-final between England and New Zealand was watched by 1.5m people, more than watched the England v Australia rugby union highlights.
Love said the 2.2m surplus represented a golden opportunity to further establish rugby league as a successful international sport and pledged that the money would be invested in the game over the next five years.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
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Temperature: 9 C to 23 C
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Temperature: 9 C to 23 C
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