There was disappointment in Kilkenny early on Tuesday as World Rugby announced South Africa as the preferred candidate for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, dealing a serious blow to Irish hopes for hosting the tournament.
Ireland, France and South Africa were in the running, with Kilkenny’s Nowlan Park in contention as a host venue should the bid be successful.
The World Rugby Council will now meet on 15 November in London to consider the recommendation and vote on the next host.
The Board made its recommendation following detailed consideration of the comprehensive host candidate evaluation report. In line with World Rugby’s mission to deliver a ground-breaking, rigorous and fully transparent host selection process for its showcase event, the report is being published today as agreed by Council.
The evaluation of the detailed bid submissions has been led by a team of World Rugby and external area experts. This was supported throughout by stringent independent evaluation and analysis from The Sports Consultancy to ensure evidence-based objectivity and consistent application against a set of weighted scoring criteria based on the following World Rugby objectives, which were agreed by the Board, noted by Council and communicated to the host candidates:
- Venues and infrastructure commensurate with a top-tier major event
- Comprehensive and enforceable public and private sector guarantees
- A commercially successful event with a fully funded, robust financial model
- Operational excellence through an integrated and experienced delivery team
- A vision that engages and inspires domestic and international audiences and contributes to the growth of rugby at all levels
- An enabling environment of political and financial stability that respects the diversity of the Rugby World Cup’s global stakeholders
- An environment and climate suited to top-level sport in a geography that allows maximum fan mobility
World Rugby and Rugby World Cup Limited Chairman Bill Beaumont said “This is the first Rugby World Cup host selection to take place following a complete redesign of the bidding process to promote greater transparency and maximise World Rugby’s hosting objectives.
“The comprehensive and independently scrutinised evaluation reaffirmed that we have three exceptional bids but it also identified South Africa as a clear leader based on performance against the key criteria, which is supported by the Board in the recommendation.”
“I would like to congratulate South Africa on a superb bid and all the bid teams for their dedication and professionalism throughout the process to date. Our colleagues on the World Rugby Council will now meet on 15 November in London to consider the Board’s recommendation and vote to decide the host of Rugby World Cup 2023.”
Independent auditors will oversee the process and the vote on 15 November, which will comprise a total of 39 votes, with a simple majority required to select the Rugby World Cup 2023 host.
Ireland’s Reaction
The IRFU released a statement shortly after the announcement.
“Ireland’s bid, led by The Irish Rugby Football Union with the full support of the Irish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive, scored highly across all areas.”
“While It is disappointing not to have received the initial recommendation from Rugby World Cup Board Limited, there is nothing in the report which is insurmountable and this is certainly not the end of the road. We absolutely believe Ireland can secure the tournament for 2023.”
“We will again, in the coming weeks, renew our vision to the Council Members – A commercially successful rugby tournament based on rugby’s values of integrity and camaraderie, played in full stadia in the hearts of towns and cities.”
“Ireland’s proposition in this regard is compelling, and so our team will compete to the final whistle as we bid to turn our historic bid plans into reality. We still have confidence that the Council members, who vote on November 15th, will place their trust in Ireland to deliver an outstanding 2023 Rugby World Cup.”
