Has Ireland’s hopes of hosting the Rugby World Cup been hit with a blow?

Could this potentially hamper Ireland's chances of hosting rugby's showpiece event in 2023?

Ireland are in a three-way race to host the Rugby World Cup in 2023 with France and South Africa also bidding to host the tournament. France and South Africa have experience of hosting the event which they both held in 2007 and 1995, respectively. World Rugby are expected to announce the winning bid at the end of the year and it would be a significant coup for Ireland if they could pull it off. Up to now, if Ireland were to host the event, they would have to pay a portion of the profits from hosting the tournament to Wales, according to Wales Online. The reason for this was because of a prior agreement in place between the two unions. Wales was the main host of the 1999 World Cup with other nations such as Ireland, England, France and Scotland also hosting a number of matches. In return for backing the Welsh bid and hosting a number of games, it was reported that the IRFU received a share of the tournament profits. A caveat to this agreement was that if those other nations ever hosted the World Cup, including Ireland, then Wales would also receive their share of the subsequent profits. However, an announcement from The Rugby World Cup Limited Board could potentially hamper Ireland's ability to receive votes. The announcement states that the board welcome the Welsh Rugby Union's (WRU) decision to "anull the historical agreement with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) regarding the hosting of Rugby World Cup 1999." Although the statement doesn't specifically refer to the agreement relating to a share of tournament profits, it alludes to this as the board state they want to "ensure and protect the integrity of the host selection process, which continues to be conducted in line with the highest standards of transparency, fairness and professionalism." With the bidding process expected to be decided by the finest of margins, it remains to be seen whether the removal of this historical agreement will impact on the potential votes which Ireland receive. The full statement from the The Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) Board is below.

The Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) Board welcomes the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) Board’s decision today to annul the historical agreement with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) regarding the hosting of Rugby World Cup 1999.   The IRFU is a Rugby World Cup 2023 candidate union and RWCL’s responsibility is to ensure and protect the integrity of the host selection process, which continues to be conducted in line with the highest standards of transparency, fairness and professionalism.    RWCL is satisfied that the proactive action taken today by the WRU will appropriately protect the integrity of the Rugby World Cup 2023 host selection process.   RWCL would like to thank the IRFU and the WRU for their full cooperation and support. 

WRU chairman also released the following statement relating to the matter:

“The general consensus from the Board was that, while the WRU had claim to compensation as part of any bid from the IRFU, the spirit of the original agreement has already been fulfilled. “The best thing for the selection process is for us to be able to put an end to any speculation about this historical agreement and we are pleased to do so. “We now look forward to playing our part in maintaining the highest standards of fairness, transparency and professionalism in the RWC 2023 host selection process.”