In contrast,NSW and even Queensland,rugby and venue sources have told theHerald,appear to be gripped with ennui.

Brisbane,considered the Wallabies’ spiritual home,won’t host a semi-final without extra seating at Suncorp Stadium. The Queensland government’s 10-year content deal with Rugby Australia recently expired and the result this year was one less Test in Brisbane,with Adelaide the happy beneficiary.

A World Cup final is in another stratosphere relative to annual Test tournaments. A call as big as where to play it will come down to many factors,including potential crowd size (gate revenue),hospitality revenue,the overall experience of a venue and surrounds,plus the legacy potential in a city and region.

In a recent whistle-stop tour of Australia’s major capital cities,World Rugby suits had their heads turned by Melbourne’s central sporting precinct,which is walking distance from the central business district,the cultural precinct,the botanic gardens and the gently meandering Yarra River.

World Rugby wants the World Cup final to be a week-long festival,not just 90 minutes in a stadium. It also does not mind so much about major games at cricket grounds after Japan successfully hosted 2019 tournament matches at circular stadiums with athletics tracks around the edges.

Accor Stadium is the only sensible option for Rugby Australia. It has asked a lot of its rusted-on fans in recent years. Sydney and NSW are rugby heartland and the heartland deserves a reward for its patience and loyalty.

But it won’t be RA’s decision alone to make,with the governing body set to link up with World Rugby in a joint venture,diluting RA’s authority on the big calls.

It will also be hard for RA to turn down the tens of millions of dollars that could be on offer from the state governments of Western Australia and Victoria to lure south or west the pinnacle game in the biggest global sporting event to hit Australian shores since the Sydney Olympics.

Skipping sensible upgrades to the 23-year-old grand dame of Australia’s rectangular stadiums will only make that decision simpler to come to.