Early whispers have Ireland and South Africa as the frontrunners following Japan winning the right to host the 2019 tournament.
However, France 2023 chief executive Claude Atcher told the Otago Daily Times on Saturday that the French had a strong case for hosting the tournament.
The French had a strong history of hosting major sporting events, including the 2007 Rugby World Cup and last year’s Uefa European Championship, and was home to half-a-million rugby players, he said.
The country’s stadiums and infrastructure also stood out, he said.
‘‘Today, if you want to host a big international sporting event, you need to have some important, nice and powerful venues,’’ Mr Atcher said.
The French Government had spent $2billion on its stadiums during the past five years.
Of the nine grounds proposed for matches in the country’s bid, five were brand new and three were recently renovated.
‘‘All stadiums now in France you are able to, on your mobile phone, order food and drinks, look up statistics of players, and watch replay from different camera angles,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s a big strength in terms of spectator experience.
‘‘In Europe we have some of the most powerful venues today.’’
Sales of 2.6million tickets were expected for the event.
Locals and visitors would be no more than three hours from any venue hosting games due to the country’s high-speed rail network.
‘‘We expect to host 450,000 foreign people and you need to have accommodation, transportation, infrastructure,’’ he said.
‘‘We have a very strong infrastructure.’’
The bid included spending $US350million ($NZ483.6million) to host the tournament.
‘‘It’s a record in terms of a financial proposal for hosting the Rugby World Cup.’’
If successful it would be the first time France had hosted the tournament exclusively after some matches in 2007 were hosted in Scotland and Wales.
World Rugby will announce a preferred bid on October 31.
The final decision would be known on November 15.
timothy.brown@odt.co.nz
