Johnny Sexton of Ireland is sprayed with water by a member of medical staff during the Rugby World Cup France 2023 match between Ireland and Romania at Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux on September 09, 2023 in Bordeaux, France. Credit: Adam Pretty - World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images
Rugby players have a reputation of being made of tougher stuff than footballers who tumble over at the merest touch, or even gridiron players cocooned in suits of protective headgear and shoulder pads.
But things are heating up for even the hardiest rugby players as temperatures at the 2023 World Cup illustrated. Temperatures soared throughout the tournament, ultimately won by South Africa. In a pool-opening game between Ireland and Romania in Bordeaux, France, both players and fans had to seek shade as the mercury hit 36°C.
The sport’s international governing body, World Rugby, predicts more of the same, after a new report based on peer-reviewed research, data collected from its member unions, and the latest findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)5 report.
Temperatures soared throughout the 2023 World Cup tournament, ultimately won by South Africa.Credit: Dan Mullan/Getty Images
The countries covered in the study include South Africa, New Zealand, and England, as well as island nation Fiji, reigning champions of the sevens format. Impacts on emerging rugby nations like Japan and the USA were also studied.
Zeroing in on ten nations, World Rugby found that 60% of the countries studied in the report would have 10 or more additional days when matches couldn’t be played because of the surge in extreme heat days per year where temperatures exceed 35 °C.
Using a rise in temperature of just two degrees as a yardstick, the report also predicts that there would also be an increase and frequency of droughts in half of these countries. At the same time, some 80% of these countries would experience a rise in the occurrence and severity of heavy rainfall and flash floods.
The report also predicts that one in 10 of the major stadiums it covered would be exposed to an annual submersion risk. One third of the 111 stadiums investigated are located in cyclone zones, and would face a rise in wind and cyclone activity. And most climate regions will experience periods of increased humidity, that it would pose additional heat-related risks for athletes, officials and spectators.
This poses significant problem for the sport, especially small clubs or communities, says Dorian Grimaud, senior communications manager at World Rugby. “It means that there are lots of rugby pitches and infrastructure that have been invested in that are going to be, potentially, unplayable, depending on the different scenarios.”
Marquee competitions are also under threat. In 2023, one waterlogged pitch led to postponements of games at the World Rugby U20 Championship held in South Africa. The country will stage the tournament again in late June 2024, over the host province’s rainy winter season.
The World Rugby study formed part of the organisation’s Environmental Sustainability Plan 2030, and concludes with six recommendations. Among these is a call for all rugby stakeholders to develop and implement plans to reduce rugby’s environmental impacts.
Adaptation and mitigation strategies could cover everything from scheduling more drink breaks for players and revisiting event scheduling, to introducing water harvesting and providing more public transport, as Cape Town did for the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022.The game and sports unions will have to evolve with this changing context, says Grimaud.
