Wallabies great Phil Kearns appointed in charge of Australia's 2027 Rugby World Cup bid

Rugby Australia has appointed Wallabies great Phil Kearns as executive director of Australia's bid to host the 2027 edition of World Cup.

Kearns earlier lost the race for the chief executive role to Raelene Castle for replacing Bill Pulver but RA chairman Hamish McLennan expressed full confidence on the 53-year-old's ability to win the hosting rights for Australia.

"Phil has an impeccable international reputation both in the corporate sector and with his network of contacts throughout the rugby world," McLennan said.

"Phil will be front and centre of the Rugby World Cup bid team and will lead our international relations to put Rugby Australia in the strongest possible position to win the right to host the 2027 showpiece.

"As part of his role, Phil will be spend time overseas to be a key contact with the World Rugby Member Unions, to showcase our bid and to highlight why we would be a tremendous host in 2027."

Kearns has played 67 Tests for Australia between 1989 and 1999 and was a member of the 1991 and 1999 World Cup winning Wallabies squad. He has also captained Australia 10 times.

The 53-year-old believes an opportunity to host a showpiece event like World Cup will be a boost to Australian economy which has taken a beating following the pandemic coronavirus.

"I’m very proud to accept the role and want to thank Hamish and Sir Rod for their consideration as we prepare our bid to host the Rugby World Cup in Australia in 2027," Kearns said.

"I know what it takes to win a World Cup on the field in Wallaby gold and now I’m enormously excited to put in the work to win the right to host a World Cup here in Australia.

"The World Cup in 2027 would be transformational for the game in this country. The financial windfall it would bring would spark the Australian economy as we rebuild from the impact of COVID-19 and then gives us the opportunity to invest back into the grassroots of the game."

Russia recently joined the bidding process for the 2027 edition of World Cup after securing the backing of President Vladimir Putin with World Rugby expected to finalise the host in 2022.