Lyon, Australia in St. Etienne, Australia, Touquet in England, Wales in Versailles, Argentina in La Bowl … In the major countries of the Oval Planet, almost everyone has set up their base camp for the next rugby world. Cup in France.

What about Ireland and especially South Africa, the reigning world champions, who have two matches scheduled at Velocity de Marseille (1)?

Well, we can end a part of the suspense, because according to our information, the Springboks chose the city of Toulon to set up their base camp.

RCT’s rich history is nurtured by a major event for the city of rugby in the Sud-Pak region and its many supporters.

This is because welcoming a country home is a guarantee of many interactions with the public (open training sessions, signing sessions, social, cultural and school activities).

As Marseilles experienced with All Blacks in 2007, a big cheer was possible (they were docked in the boat at the old harbor before being received at the town hall in front of tens of thousands of supporters).

In order to achieve this happy epilogue, we spent months and months negotiating with the South African employees who were in demand. Since the first visits, more than a year ago, all stops have been withdrawn to convince the City, TPM Metropolis and RCT.

Boat trips from La Sine

The strong points of the Toulon file: the facilities of the RCT campus that attracted the candidate, the Mayol Stadium, its reputation is second to none and the hotel with all the amenities of the Grand Hotel des Sablet in Loyalty. Zain-sur-Mer.

However, there was a defect in the Toulon case, which, according to our information, is still linked to the location of the institution: the boat crossing the port.

South Africans were asked to develop a dedicated pontoon to move peacefully between their hotel and the lawn of Mayol.

At this point, the mayor of Toulon worked to ensure that the said pontoon was attached to the level of the Port Marchand swimming pool, i.e. a stone’s throw from the stadium. Therefore, this move would be crucial.

Active supports

A month ago, all the lights were green, but the Rainbow Nation was still reluctant with a second base camp in an unknown location. There is no doubt that the support of Thulon’s candidacy was weighed in the final decision.

We first think of all the international carriers of the Lily of the Valley, former RCT players like Buckeyes Botha, Eben Etzebath and Cheslin Kolbe, as well as Bernard Laport, the FFR president who led Toulon to victory. It still lingers in his heart, or even in the close relationship that unites RCT President Bernard Lemitre and France 2023 General Manager Claude Aucher.

The “Mr World Cup” will be announced on Friday at the RCT Campus to formalize the news and tell more about the bottom line of the file.

1. South Africans play two matches at Velodrome Stadium (Scotland on September 10 and Asia-Pacific qualifier on October 1). They will travel to Bordeaux (September 17 against Spain) and Saint-Denis for the group stage match against Ireland in Stade de France on September 23.