Ireland’s journey at the Women’s Rugby World Cup has come to an end with semi final defeat at the hands of an England team that produced a masterful display of first defence and then rip roaring attacking rugby in Paris.
It was still though an exceptional effort by the Girls in Green and one which captured the nation in the same manner as Katie Taylor two years ago at the London Olympics. TG4 may have produced record sports viewing figures. RTÉ Sport cleared the decks of it’s early evening radio schedule to bring live commentary and social media and streaming was all the rage for those commuting home throughout the 5pm kick off.
Their efforts adorned the front pages of national newspapers, led the news bulletins on mainstream broadcast media and in the main, achieved strong positive coverage for the burgeoning grassroots scene that is needed to deliver more adventures to follow their Grand Slam success of 2013 and now this.
While the team prepares now fro Sunday’s third place playoff and the departure of some of the stars that have brought them this far, it is timely for us to consider if there is a greater legacy that we can help bring about which will fasten the gains made over the last two weeks and two years.
This is what we wrote yesterday and which has already gathered strong support from across the rugby, wider sporting and business community…
“No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.”
These are words said by fictional Professor John Keating as played by the tragically departed Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society.
They matter because they inspire us to dream and believe.
We believe that Ireland should pay tribute to the success of the Irish Women’s Rugby Team by bidding to host the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2017.
This is not some soft headed, notional tribute but one which will have a lasting impact on wider sport, for all genders, as well as on the economy and the lives of the whole population.
It’s a starting point where we can show, around a world platform, that we can do things better than might ever be expected of a small island nation. Our initial call last week was met by a surge of supportive comments from sporting and business leaders within the Sport for Business network.
The 2014 tournament has been held at Marcoussis in France, on high quality pitches but away from the need for high capacity stadia that the Men’s game would for now have greater demand of. Ireland has the capacity to host an exact replica of what France has done by using the excellent sports grounds of the University of Limerick and then switching for the finals to Thomond Park. It would be possible in Dublin as well but let’s look at the broader benefit of spreading our major events beyond the capital.“The successful hosting of the World Club 7’s last weekend is the perfect example how we pooled our resources together to deliver a quality tournament.”
“We have a huge tradition in Women’s Rugby and it would be very fitting to bid for the Women’s World Cup in Limerick 2017
“Any help you need we will support you only have to ask, it’s a fantastic idea.”
The Partnerships
This is a bid which has to go through the right channels of the IRFU, and garner the support of Government. We accept that this will require a high degree of control and project management, and that the IRFU, working with the IRB will be in charge.
We also know that there are partnerships that can be formed around the exploration of a bid that will not only be of crucial importance in making it stronger but which will have many side benefits as well.
We have a wealth of talent within sport and business here in Ireland, many of them part of our Sport for Business community, who would not only give but also grow through lending a hand with getting a bid like this off the ground and flying.
Within weeks we could form a group of event management professionals that would give a clear perspective on what was needed and what was possible. We would draw them from as wide a catchment area as has delivered in the past and would do so again on this project. Some would get involved to gain an inside track on involvement. But more will do so because of a belief that giving something to society without immediate gain is the right thing to do, and will be rewarded.
We will gather to challenge problems and find solutions that would form the basis of a strong bid document.
We will also learn along the way about the power of collaboration and how that can benefit other bid teams from the Men’s Rugby World Cup proposal around 2023, the UEFA bid for Euro 2020 host city status, and the many other smaller scale but very manageable and very beneficial projects that can be part of a Sport Ireland initiative to match and beat that of Denmark.
Sport for Business has drawn together a strong group of members companies and organisations. Our greatest strength as a group is that we can agitate, draw different minds together and create new ways of going about the business of sport.
This is a project that can prove to be of real benefit for Ireland. It is something which we will start on the shoulders of the team that played it’s way to the highest level Irish sport has ever attained and which deserves to leave a legacy greater than the cheers which will ring out this evening in support of their very possible dream.
Contact us today if you would like to part of that dream.
