The 2015 World Cup must be held outside a rugby union stronghold if the sport is serious about becoming a truly global game and breaking out of its current "ghetto", according to the contents of a new report seen by AFP.
'Putting Rugby First' also warns that union is being left behind by the likes of cricket, which has a similar geographical base and background, when it comes to broadcasting in new markets such as China and the United States.
And it urges officials to exploit the commercial potential of Sevens, a cut-down version of rugby, in much the same way as cricket has used Twenty20 to bring in new fans.
Japan lost out narrowly to New Zealand, a rugby powerhouse but a less financially attractive proposition than south-east Asia, for the right to host the 2011 World Cup. By contrast, football staged its 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, providing a huge boost to the sport in that region.
"The top 10 countries in which rugby is played make-up just five percent of the world's population," report co-author William Field told AFP on Saturday.
He added: "Rugby Union is still stuck in a ghetto. Over half of the world's four million registered players are English and 97 percent of people watching last year's World Cup final came from 'Foundation Unions' (Europe's England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and France as well as the southern hemisphere trio of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand). Field is a partner at Spectrum Value Partners, a consultancy group whose work encompasses the sports industry.
His co-author is Quentin Smith, the chairman of English Premiership side Sale and a consultant with Addleshaw Goddard, a London-based law firm with a sports law practice.
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