Springboks’ demise a sign of World Rugby’s deeper malaise

If last Saturday proved a pretty humbling experience for South African rugby, it wasn’t a great week for the game’s governing body, World Rugby, either.

The fallout from the report issued by that body’s technical review group in respect of the 2023 World Cup bids submitted by South Africa, France, and Ireland continued unabated, with the French and Irish delegations questioning various aspects of the findings and highlighting inaccuracies in the report.

As a consequence, regardless of the outcome of the vote by the council members of that body in London today that will ultimately decide the destination of the 2023 event, you can be sure there will be repercussions.