The Rugby World Cup trophy is the most valuable and prestigious trophy in the sport, it is awarded to the team who wins the Rugby World Cup. But exactly how valuable is the Rugby World Cup trophy?
How much is the Rugby World Cup trophy worth? Estimates would say that the Rugby World Cup trophy would be worth around £16,500 although that is based on the price originally paid for the trophy. Given the history now imbued in it and the depth of emotion and feeling around it, any selling price would be a lot higher, bordering on priceless.
When the organisers of the first Rugby World Cup were looking for a trophy, they eventually settled on one that had been made by Carrington and Co back in 1906. The sterling silver trophy with a 24-carat gold plate was not cheap and World Rugby had to pay around £6,000 for the trophy in 1987.
In today’s money, that is around £16,000. While that is how much the trophy originally cost, there is a very good chance that the trophy would be worth much more than that today. Seeing as the trophy is steeped in rugby tradition and history it would be worth more than ten times the amount that World Rugby originally paid for it.
How much do you get for winning the Rugby World Cup?
While there is little information available about how much each rugby union is paid when they win the Rugby World Cup, there is a little bit more information about how much the players get paid as bonuses for winning the tournament.
In recent years, the players have split around £2 million for winning the tournament. When South Africa won the Rugby World Cup in 2019, it was later disclosed that the Union had made a payment of around £2 million to the playing squad as a bonus. This would usually be split between all of the players involved in the tournament, not just the players who were involved in the final.
Prior to the 2019 RWC Final, there was an article that stated that if the England team won the final, then they would split a fund of around £2.5 million between the team. The exact amount that the players get depends on how much the union is willing to pay and how much they can pay.
There are no official reports from World Rugby about how much they pay to the union of the team who wins the tournament. Some reports have stated that around £20 million is split between all of the nations involved in the tournament, usually on a sliding scale based on performance.
However there Is not a lot of evidence behind the report and so it is difficult to figure out exactly how much is paid to the Union of the winning team.
How much are Rugby World Cup referees paid?
Being a referee at the Rugby World Cup is incredibly difficult. The decisions that the officials make will be seen by millions of people and have a huge effect on the competition. So how much are these referees paid for the tournament?
Referees are believed to earn around £5,000 per game that they officiate at the 2023 Rugby World Cup. This means that throughout the tournament, some officials will earn around £40,000 for the entirety of the tournament. Some officials will earn closer to £25,000 for the tournament if they are not involved in the later knockout games.
The officials who are working on the sidelines are believed to earn slightly less than that. Finding out the exact figure can be very difficult, but this is what the majority of reports have said about the estimated pay for the referees at the 2023 tournament.
There is a very good chance that the referees will also be compensated for the amount that they have to travel. The officials will have to travel and stay at different places around France and so World Rugby will likely compensate the officials for this. Hotel stays and travel fees will be covered for the tournament.
How many teams are there at the Rugby World Cup?
The Rugby World Cup is by far the biggest competition in international rugby. There are a variety of teams from different levels competing at the tournament.
There are twenty teams set to compete at the Rugby World Cup. The 2023 Rugby World Cup will feature 20 teams in total, with 12 of those teams qualifying from being in the top three of their group at the previous tournament. There will be eight other teams who qualify for the tournament.
These other teams will qualify through various competitions. There will be three teams from Europe, two qualifiers from the Americas, with one from Africa, Oceania, and Asia. In total this makes the 20 teams that will play at the tournament.
How many players in a Rugby World Cup squad?
The Rugby World Cup is an incredibly gruelling tournament that often features injuries to every side competing in it. Due to that, each team needs a big squad who can be rotated for each game.
There are 33 players in a Rugby World Cup squad for the 2023 tournament. This is the first time at the Rugby World Cup that teams have been allowed to bring 33 players. At the 2019 tournament, teams could only bring squads of 31 players. Out of these players, only 23 will actually have a chance to represent their country in each game.
World Rugby wanted to make the impact of the tournament slightly less physical, because of how demanding the Rugby World Cup is. So by making the squads slightly bigger, the teams can rotate through their players slightly more and should help to reduce the likelihood of injuries.
However, injuries are still a real threat at the tournament, but any player who gets injured and has to withdraw from the active squad can be replaced. Injured players can only be replaced if they have withdrawn from the squad.
This often means that each team will have a slightly bigger training squad, so that if an injury happens, players can join the active squad straight away and will be match fit.