These New Developments Could Mean Bad News For Ireland’s RWC 2023 Bid

Ireland, France and South Africa are currently locked in a three-way battle to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

A decision on who will host the 2023 Rugby World Cup is set to be made in November, with Ireland currently the frontrunners to host the tournament ahead of both France and South Africa.

Their bid however may be in trouble with Midi Olympique reporting that the French rugby union (FFR) have recently been working tirelessly behind the scenes, orchestrating a number of manoeuvres to overtake Ireland  in the race to host the famous tournament.

They are believed to be ‘intensifying’ their efforts with reporter Gavin Mortimer revealing that new FRF President Bernard Laporte had dinner with World Rugby chief Bill Beaumont recently, where he explained that France would secure new sponsors and the bid would be built around the ‘attractiveness’ of Paris.

France last hosted the tournament in 2007. South Africa, who hosted the event in 1995, are the other contenders. A decision on who gets to host the tournament in 2023 will come down to votes gathered by the respective rugby unions around the world.

Top tier teams such as England, Wales and New Zealand have three votes each, while second tier teams such as the US, Canada and Mexico have just one vote. If Ireland is to be successful, the scoreline will need to read 19 votes to Ireland, out of a total of 37 votes cast.

Voting will take place in November, in a secret ballot. If there is no winner after round one, the country with the least votes will be eliminated.