The team behind the decision makers on who will host the Rugby World Cup in 2023 are in Dublin and enjoyed a trip to Croke Park yesterday as well as Áras an Uachtaráin where they met President Michael D Higgins.
Political support is one of the key elements in the minds of the World Rugby Executive who will make the decision this November and in Higgins Ireland could not have a better example of genuine sporting interest.
Last Friday he attended the St Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin but then rather than going home and putting his feet up he was at Croke Park for the AIB All Ireland Club Championship Finals and then straight down the road to Donnybrook for the decider in the RBS Women’s Six Nations between Ireland and England.
He was back at the Aviva Stadium again on Saturday and will have been able to speak with authority on the benefits of the Irish bid when he met with Niamh Briggs (Women’s captain), Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland 2023), Padraig Slattery (Ireland 2023),Stephen Hilditch (IRFU President), David Dobbin (Ireland 2023), Robert Brophy (World Rugby), Philip Browne (IRFU CEO), Brett Gosper (WR), Dick Spring (Ireland 2023), Alan Gilpin (World Rugby), Kevin Potts (IRFU), Linda Hoey (World Rugby), Mike Thompson (Dept Economy NI Assembley), Ross Aitken (World Rugby), John Kelly (Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport), Maeve Carton (Ireland 2023) and Declan Madden (IRFU).
The group then went on to Croke Park where they were given a tour of the Stadium that is proposed to host the Rugby World Cup Final.
They were also given a few lessons in hurling and football from Henry Shefflin and Bernard Brogan who were both on hand to lend their support.
Yesterday’s and today’s visit is part of a tour of the three candidates with the team having been in South Africa last week and heading to France next week.
The political aspect of how each candidate is handling itself came to the fore with an announcement from France, no doubt timed to coincide with the trip that Deloitte in France were backing their bid, causing a potential headache for Deloitte in Dublin who are the lead advisers to the IRFU Bid.
Read more about the Deloitte news on Sport for Business
Speaking in advance of the trips World Rugby President Bill Beaumont explained the reason behind the tour and expressed confidence in each of the bidders.
“We have three very strong and passionate candidates vying for selection as host of Rugby World Cup 2023 – all of whom are capable of hosting a fantastic tournament.”
“With the support of their respective governments, each candidate is working hard to develop their final submission documents ahead of the June deadline as they seek to bring to life their plans to stage tournaments that will not only be great for rugby but great for their nation. Rugby World Cup has demonstrated through past tournaments that it is a low investment, high-return proposition with proven benefits for host nations.”
“The upcoming visits will provide us with an important opportunity to monitor progress leading into the final weeks of the bid phase and we look forward to discovering more details about the compelling concepts of France, Ireland and South Africa later this month.”
The final bid documents will be submitted in June with a final decision on who will host the tournament taken at the World Rugby Council meeting on November 15th.
