It remains to be seen whether or not South Africa tosses its name in the hat to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup, but even if we do there are big changes ahead for fans in Cape Town and Durban.

A new report, claiming impeccable sources, says that both Newlands and Kings Park won’t host a single match.

More below from Sport24:

According to Afrikaans newspaper Rapport, the matches will instead be played at Cape Town Stadium and Moses Mabhida Stadium [below].

“They (Kings Park and Newlands) do not meet the tournament’s requirements regarding safety,” an impeccable source told the Afrikaans weekly.

Well that’s something of a game changer, and I’m sure those with season tickets will be pretty bleak.

Given that the Cape Town Stadium is often said to have massive overheads, perhaps it’s not a bad thing that matches will be played there, and I suppose it’s far more accessible to the majority of Capetonians than Newlands.

Of course we might be getting a little ahead of ourselves:

…there is still uncertainty regarding government’s backing for South Africa’s bid.

SA Rugby needs government to officially back its bid by June 1.

That is the final date of submissions for potential host nations, and if SA Rugby does not receive backing in writing by that date, it will not be able to bid.

Issues regarding transformation may prevent government to support the bid.

Does Fikile still make this call, and will it be done via Twitter? I guess only time will tell.

[source:sport24]