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Cape Town - SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux was in Dublin on Tuesday where he successfully handed in the country's official 2023 Rugby World Cup bid to World Rugby headquarters.
With government backing finally secured, South Africa is up against France and Ireland in an effort to host its first World Cup since 1995.
A final decision on the host nation is expected from World Rugby in November of this year.
Roux seems confident that SA Rugby has prepared a compelling bid, and he spoke on Tuesday about why he believed that South Africa was the ideal location for the showpiece.
Here are Roux's SIX arguments for bringing the Webb Ellis Cup back to South Africa:
1. Profit
"A World Cup is the biggest property of World Rugby. Within that, they obviously need to make a lot of profit and that actually sustains World Rugby for the next four years. We believe, from a profit point of view, that we will make more money than any other World Cup that has been hosted previously.
"We can deliver any World Cup at half the cost of the other countries that are able to do so and then, from a rugby point of view in terms of tickets, we've proven with the Cricket World Cup, the IPL and the FIFA World Cup that we will sell all of those tickets. With the influx of visitors into our country and with the advantage of currency, we're pretty sure that we'll be able to sell all of those tickets."
2. Infrastructure
"From a facilities point of view, we've obviously got all of the stadiums. We've got brand new stadiums built for the FIFA World Cup in 2010. By the time the next World Cup gets here in 2023 they will be 14 years old and in stadium terms, that is absolutely nothing."
3. SA is a rugby-mad nation
"We're a rugby-mad country and a sporting-mad country. In the time of the World Cup there will be nothing other than rugby. We won't be dominated by any other event or sport. You'll be in a rugby carnival for that period of time."
4. SA's track record
"If you think about our track record, we've got an ability to deliver major events. We've done a Cricket World Cup, a Rugby World Cup, a Soccer World Cup, we've done the IPL ... we are one of only two countries that has successfully hosted a cricket, rugby and soccer World Cup. We've got all of the knowledge."
5. Uniquely African experience
"Add to that the uniquely South African experience and the African experience. The visitor to South Africa will not only be able to watch some rugby, but also be able to go to the Kruger Park, beaches, the winelands ... whatever their fancy is. That adds an extra dimension to our bid."
6. We're due another World Cup
"It needs to come back to Africa. It belongs in Africa. It's been all over the world now ... it's gone to Asia. It's only been in Africa once and by 2023 it will be nearly 30 years since it's been in South Africa. We need it as a country and something positive to take us forward."
