RWC 2023: Ireland ready to stage a tournament ‘like no other’

The chairman of Ireland’s Rugby World Cup (RWC) 2023 Bid Oversight Board, Dick Spring, formally announced Ireland’s entry into the ‘candidate’ phase of the selection process to determine the host for the 2023 Rugby World Cup on Tuesday.

The 12 potential venues which could be used if Ireland’s bid for the 2023 tournament is successful were also revealed.

Celtic Park in Derry has been a surprise inclusion in the long list, however Semple Stadium, the home of Tipperary GAA, did not make the cut.

The Aviva Stadium, RDS Arena, Thomond Park and Ravenhill are the four stadiums out of the 12 currently used for rugby - with Croke Park among eight GAA venues which could be used.

Ireland will compete with South Africa and France to win the right to host the global tournament and take over as host nation from Japan who will preside over the 2019 staging. The winning bid will be announced in November 2017.

South Africa previously hosted the Rugby World Cup in 1995, when the Springboks memorably beat New Zealand in the final; Nelson Mandela presenting captain Francois Pienaar with the trophy. France too have previously staged the finals in 2007, when the Springboks were again the winners.

The expression of interest phase commenced on May 14th, 2015 and closed on June 15th, allowing interested parties access to a knowledge-sharing process and preparation window ahead of the release of tender documentation in May 2016.

There was a workshop held in June 2015 to discuss all aspects of hosting the RWC, an innovation in the process. A tournament fee of £120 million is a required pre-payment to the owners Rugby World Cup Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of World Rugby.

The tournament also has to be fully underwritten financially, although the windfall will be substantial thanks to the 2,000,000 tickets to be sold by the host union.

The next stage required unions to confirm that they were willing to subscribe to the process and the deadline was June 2016. The announcement of the Rugby World Cup 2023 host union will take place in November 2017, which will provide the successful country with six years to prepare for the event.

The IRFU anticipate 455,000 visitors to Ireland during the tournament and the economic benefit is estimated at €800 million.

At an announcement at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday, Mr Spring said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for Ireland to host one of the world’s biggest sporting events and we intend to ensure Ireland’s proposition will be world class and compelling.

“We believe Ireland is ready to stage a Rugby World Cup like no other. A tournament that will capture the imagination of the world. A festival of rugby that will be full of Irish people’s unique spirit and an event that will help rugby to reach new audiences throughout the world.”

Taoiseach Enda Kenny gave his backing to the bid, he said: “For many years our sporting ambassadors have travelled the world bringing colour, passion and friendship to sporting events everywhere. Now we want to bring the world to Ireland.

“We want the world to experience this colour, this passion, this friendship - here at home, with us. Ireland is waiting with open arms to welcome rugby fans from all over the world, to make Rugby World Cup 2023 the event of a lifetime, to deliver lifelong memories on and off the pitch.

“Ireland is ready for the World.”

Potential RWC 2023 venues: Croke Park (83,200), Aviva Stadium (51,711), RDS Arena (18,677), Nowlan Park Kilkenny (26,000), Pairc Ui Chaoimh (45,770), Thomond Park (26,897), FitzGerald Stadium Killarney (38,200), Pearse Stadium Galway (34,000), McHale Park Castlebar (31,000), Casement Park (34,500) Kingspan Stadium (18,168), Celtic Park Derry (17,000).