South Africans reacted with disappointment on Wednesday after the right to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup was surprisingly awarded to France.

The Council of the sport’s governing body went against the recommendations of an extensive evaluation report in a secret ballot.

South Africa had been recommended by World Rugby’s Board but in a second ballot, the Council members voted convincingly 24-15 for France, which also held the tournament in 2007.

It was the first time the Board’s recommendation has been ignored and the decision was immediately followed by questions over the selection process and the point of running an extensive and transparent evaluation process only for the decision to be taken in secret.

The shock announcement by World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont in London was greeted by a moment of stunned silence before the French delegation delivered a muffled cheer.

Ireland, which has never hosted the World Cup on its own, was eliminated after the first round when it secured eight votes to the 13 of South Africa and 18 of France.

The bidding countries did not take part in the ballot. The remaining Six Nations and SANZAR countries had three votes each with the rest made up from the six regional associations and smaller rugby countries.

South Africa, which staged the 1995 tournament, winning it in their first appearance after missing the first two because of the apartheid sporting ban, had been an odds-on favourite after coming out clearly on top of the evaluation report.

Mark Alexander, president of SA Rugby, said he was “desolated”.

Reuters