
Brett Robinson, Chair of World Rugby gave an interview to Peter Simmons of the Sydney Morning Herald. Here are some excerpts.
BR: [Laughing.] Look, with the greatest respect to rugby league, while it makes a lot of noise in this market, that does not really translate at all to the American market or global market, and … we are ourselves seriously well advanced in our plans to make a huge rugby impact in the US. Last year we had the All Blacks playing the Fijians in front of 50,000 in San Diego. We’re going to have more Tests in Chicago this year. And our eye is on the prize of 2031 and 2033 men’s and women’s World Cup.
BR: We’re going to show Australia how big this beautiful game is, with 24 countries competing, over 250,000 inbound visitors and putting about $1.3 billion into the Australian economy. And the whole thing will be watched by a total, we hope, of well over the 800 million viewers around the world who saw the last World Cup.
BR: We are projecting it will deliver £500-550 million of surplus for the game, more than $1 billion, which we can then reinvest in the game around the world. But while this coming World Cup in Australia will be the biggest and the best and the most financially successful, the next one, in America, will be even bigger, and we are projecting a surplus of about £750 million.