Friday, 5th December 2014
- Ireland launches bid for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
- Bid being led by Paschal Donohoe, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport.
Cork is one of Ireland’s great sporting cities and would make an ideal venue for the Rugby World Cup.
Cork’s sporting and rugby pedigree is beyond question. And with the redevelopment of Páirc Uí Chaoimh and Irish Independent Park (Musgrave Park), we would have ideal venues for Rugby World Cup games.
Cork frequently hosts high level sporting fixtures and cultural events and has a variety of excellent hotels. The southern capital would serve as a perfect launch pad to some of Ireland’s most beautiful scenery.
Irish people are renowned for making visitors feel at home and I have no doubt that the people of Cork would provide a great welcome to Rugby World Cup visitors to the city.
Rugby fans from the six nations and the southern hemisphere love coming to Ireland. An Irish world cup would prove an extremely popular choice with rugby fans.
Hosting the Rugby World Cup would involve a significant investment for Ireland but it would be more than recouped through visitor numbers and the benefits of the global exposure of Ireland as a tourism and business destination.
I think the Irish bid for the Rugby World Cup is one that demands to be taken seriously. We have the facilities. The Governments north and south of the border are fully behind the bid and the GAA is on board.
The bid is being launched as Ireland sits at number three in the world rugby rankings. It would be great to see Ireland compete for the world cup on home soil.