Australia pondering Cup bid

The Australian Rugby Union is considering bidding for the 2019 World Cup despite the massive asking price to host the tournament.

The International Rugby Board has slapped a £120million fee on the event, reducing the chances of smaller nations entering the hosting race.

The IRB is also asking for bidders for the 2015 World Cup, but it is the 2019 tournament ARU boss John O’Neill has his eye on.

Australia co-hosted the inaugural tournament with New Zealand in 1987 and went it alone in 2003.

The ARU have until 15 August to officially express their interest.

“Clearly, we have an interest in potentially bidding for 2019,” O’Neill said.

“We’ll go through an assessment process taking into consideration all the pros and cons of another tilt at hosting a World Cup.”

O’Neill warned, however, the IRB risk pricing themselves out of the market because of the large sums of money involved.

“My personal view is that there are very few countries that could put their hand up for that sort of commitment,” he said.