RFU's cash concerns could kill 2015 bid

Twickenham admits need for £80m financial guarantee may end World Cup hopes

(GETTY IMAGES)

England may have been heavily backed to host the eighth World Cup in 2015 but, with precisely a week to go before the bid deadline, the Rugby Football Union has yet to decide whether to chase the prize. Francis Baron, the union's chief executive, said yesterday that Twickenham might abandon the idea because of the £80m financial guarantee demanded by the organisers. "No union will be able to commit to such a guarantee without government support," he said, before acknowledging that, in the current economic climate, governments are as broke as everyone else.

Senior RFU figures have been negotiating with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for some time. "They've been fantastic in helping us work through the legal and financial difficulties," Baron said. "We're still talking and I hope we'll get there, but we're not there yet. It is a big, big commitment with things as they are: a number of countries have indicated that they are struggling to make the numbers work, and we know Scotland, Ireland and Australia have now decided not to bid. Over the next few days, we have to make up our minds whether a bid would be in the best interests of the union and our clubs."

Baron was at pains to point out that the union was not asking for a cash handout direct from the public purse, but significantly, he would neither confirm nor deny that the government was being asked to underwrite all or part of the £80m. He did, however, admit that the credit crunch had made a severe dent in Twickenham's earnings from corporate hospitality, with takings dropping by some 30 per cent over the last nine months.

"It's tough out there," he said, "but we're not suffering as badly as some other businesses. We have offset our losses through cost reductions and our latest results show us performing better than budget. I'm encouraged by the fact that the top 10 unions in the world are co-operating closely. We have agreed not to follow any 'beggar my neighbour' policies."

One of those neighbours is giving cause for concern, though. By throwing money at leading English names – Riki Flutey, James Haskell, Tom Palmer, Jamie Noon, Iain Balshaw and Jonny Wilkinson, to name but half a dozen – French clubs are threatening the Elite Player Squad agreement hammered out over many months by the RFU and the Premiership clubs. Concern is so great that both Baron and Rob Andrew, the governing body's director of elite rugby, are sending out clear warnings to players about future participation at international level.

"If people sign contracts that do not allow them to fulfil their obligations under the EPS agreement, they won't be considered for the England squad," said Andrew, who fears that rest periods, medical protocols and availability for the two-Test tour of Australia in June of next year – the last senior foreign venture before the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand – are not being built into deals with French sides. "We will announce our new elite squad on 1 July and things need to be in place by then. If they aren't, it will impact on selection."

The top-flight clubs' move to fight the recession by adding six matches to next season's Premiership programme has been scrapped in favour of a revamped Anglo-Welsh Cup. However, there is no agreement between the clubs and the RFU over player release for a celebration game against Ireland to mark the opening of the new Lansdowne Road next year, and England will now decline the invitation.