SARU stay focussed (File)

Johannesburg  - South Africa will not abandon its bid to host either the 2015 or 2019 World Cup, despite failing to win the recommendation of the Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) board.

"We are very disappointed not to have won the board's recommendation but we have not given up," Mark Alexander, deputy president of the South African Rugby Union and chairperson of the bid committee, said in a statement on Wednesday.

"We will now have to examine the findings of the report presented by RWCL to the board. Our congratulations go to the recommended bidders - they have been working for their union and their nations as we have - but we will be looking for some clarifications on the recommendations from the IRB."

England (2015) and Japan (2019) were named as the board's preferred hosts for the next two tournaments after a tender process that included Italy and South Africa. The final decision rests with the council of the International Rugby Board (IRB), who will meet in Dublin on July 28 to finalise the choice.

Alexander said South Africa's bid met all the requirements for a host nation called for by RWCL.

"We met and frequently exceeded every criteria of the tender document. The IRB asked for a minimum guarantee and we were the only nation to offer in excess of that. Our bid received exceptional assistance and support from the sports minister, the Reverend Makhenkesi Stofile, the Department of Sport and Recreation, as well as cabinet, and without their backing we simply would not have bid."