"BBC miss out" -  2027 Rugby World Cup set to go behind paywall in the UK

He told The Telegraph in 2023: “The starting point is always going to be, ‘Can we make as much of this fantastic competition – in the case of men’s and women’s World Cups – available to the biggest audiences possible?’

The secondary consideration to that is, ‘Can we do that in a way that provides the revenues that we need to continue to invest in the growth of the sport?’ So, like any sports event owner, it’s finding that balance – and there is a balance to be found there – across different markets.

So, no, we definitely won’t look at ’27 in isolation and we definitely won’t look at the UK in isolation. We’ll look at it as part of a broader sort of mix of opportunities.

A brilliant, expanded, 16-team, eight-venue Women’s Rugby World Cup in ’25, much bigger scale than we’ve ever done in Women’s World Cup before, that has to be available, particularly in the UK and the home market, for free, to the biggest audience. That’s our short-term focus.”

“There’s no doubt that free TV and partners like ITV, who have been great partners for us, are a part of that future. Because we want to reach audiences that wouldn’t otherwise pay for a subscription for rugby.”