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CAPE TOWN. – Rugby Africa refuses to confirm, or deny, that it voted against South Africa and for France at Wednesday’s World Rugby Council vote that determined the hosts for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. South Africans were left stunned at losing out to France, especially after they had been confirmed as World Rugby’s official recommendation. In the end, South Africa went down by 24 votes to 15.

In the aftermath of what was a shocking result, there were widespread reports that SA Rugby, remarkably, had failed to secure the two votes assigned to Rugby Africa.

Sport24 contacted Rugby Africa president Abdelaziz Bougja, who lives in France, on Thursday and while there was no official confirmation as to where Rugby Africa placed their tick, Bougja did not paint a picture of a harmonious relationship between his organisation and SA Rugby.

Bougja explained the process that Rugby Africa had taken in deciding who to vote for. “We had a democratic process inside the Executive Committee,” he said. “We explained before what our process would be . . . it was very transparent. The process was that all nine members of the Exco would vote, confidentially.’’ – Sport24.