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World Cup board endorses Aussie bid Posted: Monday April 08, 2002 1:41 PMSYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Australian rugby officials said Monday that their bid to be solo hosts of the 2003 World Cup has been endorsed by the Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) board of directors. The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) said the board will present its recommendation to the International Rugby Board council meeting in Dublin on Sunday. Approval in Dublin would mean the ARU can make public its plans for the 48-match tournament in cities and towns around Australia. It would also be able to hold the official launch that was postponed last month when New Zealand and Australia could not come to terms on a co-host agreement. The ARU said that the proposal, which was more lucrative to the IRB than if Australia and New Zealand shared hosting duties, had been favorably received. "The details provided by the ARU have been considered by the RWC Board and deemed to be an acceptable proposal," said an IRB statement from Dublin. "This will be put forward to the IRB Council for consideration next week together with any other options." New Zealand Rugby Football Union officials said Monday they were still hopeful that they could co-host the tournament. New Zealand hosted the first World Cup in 1987, using Australia as a co-host, but New Zealand authorities have been lukewarm about the idea of hosting matches since a draft of matches appeared late last year. With England and South Africa likely to play their group games in Perth, on the west Australian coast, and one semifinal and the final due to be played in Australia, there were rumblings of discontent about New Zealand's ability to make the tournament pay. The New Zealanders have also rejected requests to ensure the highly-popular domestic championship is completed before the World Cup opens. World Cup organizers feared that tournament ticket sales might be affected.
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