Johannesburg — ZIMBABWE stands a chance of hosting Rugby World Cup matches if SA wins the right next year to host either the 2015 or 2019 tournaments .

South African Rugby Union (Saru) president Oregan Hoskins yesterday said the troubled southern African nation and Namibia were two of the countries in line to benefit from the decision to include neighbouring countries, should SA be granted the hosting rights.

He said Zimbabwe's inclusion was dependent on a stable political climate in the country.

Hoskins' comments were made at a media briefing yesterday, after a special general meeting of Saru's presidents' council where the management committee's decision to convert SA Rugby (Pty) Ltd -- Saru's commercial arm -- into a section 21 company and dissolve Saru was rubber-stamped.

The next step is for Saru's legal team and Willie Basson -- the author of its constitution -- to plan the way forward under the new unitary structure, which Hoskins hoped would be operational in January.

Commenting on a Southern African Rugby World Cup, Hoskins said: "If we are awarded the right to host a World Cup, what I'd like to see is a Southern African World Cup. The 1995 event was SA's World Cup. Hopefully, with the political settlement in Zimbabwe, and if its economy follows suit, we can play matches there and in Namibia. But obviously the majority of the games would be played in SA."

Hoskins said he had written a letter to Sports Minister Makhenkesi Stofile earlier this week, requesting a meeting with the members of the International Rugby Board (IRB) regarding the possibility of hosting the 2015 or 2019 World Cups.

This follows Hoskins' comments three months ago that government support was essential to host the spectacle, as the cash guarantee to host the 2015 event has been set at a staggering £100m, and 2019 at £120m. "I wrote to the sports minister this week, asking if he is available to meet the leadership of the IRB, because they want to come to SA at the end of the month," said Hoskins. "They want to get a feel from government about SA's attitude to the applications to 2015 and 2019."

With regard to Saru's restructuring process, Hoskins said having only the section 21 company would not only benefit the organisation in terms of tax purposes, but also in efficiency.

Under the new structure a new board of directors will replace the presidents' council and SA Rugby's board.

While the number of members on the new board has yet to be decided, Hoskins confirmed that the 14 provincial presidents and Saru's president, deputy president and vice-president would serve on the board, with the possibility that independent members could be included.

"We hope that the new structure would improve efficiency in rugby. This would involve better service delivery to our stakeholders across the board. If we do not achieve that, we would be taking a step back. There are already operational changes taking place to streamline the organisation and avoid duplication of duties."

The appointment of a Springbok team manager for the year-end tour to the UK in November was also discussed at the meeting and it was decided that someone would be appointed temporarily to fill the void left by Andy Marinos, who is now SA Rugby's acting MD.