FORMER LIONS AND Ireland hooker Keith Wood believes Ireland could host a brilliant Rugby World Cup, with the venue of the 2023 version of the tournament still undecided.
Indeed, the Minister for Sport Leo Varadkar is expected to announce a formal, solo bid on Ireland’s part later today, when he is set to speak at the IRB World Conference in Dublin.
This morning’s Irish Examiner reports that Varadkar commissioned a report which calculates that the tournament could bring €800million into the country, with over 330,000 fans predicted to arrive in Ireland for the matches.
Interest on the part of the IRFU has grown in the last three years and Wood told TheScore.ie it can happen.
You have to aim for big things. I think there’s a lot of work to be done before we get to that stage but logistically, it’s possible. We have to dream the dream. What goals are we setting in terms of getting the World Cup here? It has to be feasible, it can’t be just a dream.
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“There’s an awful lot that has to happen before it would go on. Whether the IRFU would be able to do it on their own, they absolutely wouldn’t. This is an ‘Ireland inc.’ way of doing it. It’s a chance to put Ireland’s best foot forward.”
A feasibility study was submitted to the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport in early 2013 regarding Ireland’s potential to successfully host the World Cup, and it now appears that the results of that examination have been positive.
Wood points to the example of New Zealand as inspiration for Ireland, given that there were serious doubts if such a small country would be up to the task of hosting the 2011 version of the tournament.
“Ireland should be in the position to bid for big events. The best example of it is New Zealand. We’re like-sized populations, four to five million. They were able to do it, and I know they’re a rugby-mad country, but you can’t honestly say Ireland’s not a rugby-mad country either.
“We know that a very big Munster game against Leinster, for example, puts about €10 million into the coffers in the city. That’s what it’s worth, it’s phenomenal. So, the World Cup coming to Ireland could be an income generator that we need for the country. We need as much inward investment and tourism as we can get.”
The legendary hooker is not alone in calling for Ireland to make a bid, with economist David McWilliams known to be among the supporters for the idea.
Wood mentions that “the whole country” would need to get on board if this is to be a success. The Irish Examiner this morning reports that the GAA are supportive of Varadkar’s bid, meaning the likes of Croke Park, Casement Park, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Pearse Stadium and Fitzgerald Park could be potential venues.
In March, the GAA voted to allow the use of those Gaelic grounds in the event that a bid for the competition is made. Wood says the historic 2007 opening of the organisation’s centre-piece stadium to rugby was a key progression.
“I think that hurdle is over. When Croke Park did open [to rugby], it put Ireland with its best foot forward. I still go back and remember the noise for that Ireland v England game, it was just phenomenal. It’s a world-class stadium, it needs to be seen by the world media.
“It was in that instance and that’s good for everybody. This would be good for the GAA, good for sport, good for the country.”
Keith Wood is a Rugby Ambassador for DHL, who have transported the William Webb Ellis Cup to Dublin ahead of the inaugural IRB World Rugby Conference. Follow DHL Rugby’s latest events on Twitter.
- Originally published 8.00
Like rugby? Follow TheScore.ie’s dedicated Twitter account @rugby_ie >
Unlikely but certainly doable. There are plenty of decent size stadiums in Ireland and if the IRFU was to pay to upgrade the facilities of some of the GAA stadiums for use then it seems like it would be good for everyone.
The rugby world cup isn’t the Olympics or football world cup, it’s actually fairly small. Would certainly bring in a serious chunk of change to the country.
Far from small it is. From Q-final stages you get easily 50-60 thousand plus attendances. The group stages always have one or two massive games. So in the space of one month we could have 12 international matches with attendances in excess of 50,000 people. It’s a huge event.
Think about it guys. The stadia that would be most suitable for a Rugby World Cup to be held in Ireland include:
1)Aviva Stadium
2)Croke Park (It should hold the final as well. The GAA wouldn’t dare turn it down just because it isn’t an Irish sport. They need to get over that. They are holding a college football game next year, so really it should be no different to accept this proposal if it ever happens.)
3) The RDS
4) Thomond Park
5) Ravenhill
6) Pairc ui Chaoimh (It’s undergoing redevelopment and with over 50000 plus capacity)
7) The Sportsground
8) Maybe Casement Park?
I mean, there’s a wide variety of stadia in this country that would be perfect in hosting World Cup games, so really, there should be no problem for Ireland to bid to host the 2022 World Cup.
Casement Park is getting a huge redevelopment turning into 45,000 all seater so it will definitely be used. RDS will not be used as is currently three temporary stands and and a shed. Two venues will be enough in Dublin anyway.
Small in comparison to the Football world cup which would be around the 3 million mark. It would be a huge undertaking for Ireland but it is conceivable. Bit surprised it is solo bid though, would certainly be more likely with the Welsh on board.
Add to that pierce stadium Galway… More hotel rooms than limerick +motor way to Dublin.
McHale park mayo also an option all flood light.. Knock airport on its doorstep … Huge amount of Hotel rooms in Mayo..
Both of these grounds are far superior to some of the grounds that staged group games in New Zealand…
I remember this all kicked off when somebody text the idea to off the ball. At first they where sceptical of the idea. A large amount of texters then got involved pointing to reasons as to why is could work, they then done a segment on the subject with economists and sports people and then they approached the minister who said he was all for the idea. It would be great for the country to think big and host a major tournament. Here’s hoping we do it and do it better than anyone else has.
Sick of the naysayers.
Stadia Croke Park 82,000, Aviva 50,000, Thomond 26,000, Pairc Ui Chaoimh ( Planned 45,000 seat redevelopment to start next year), Casement (45,000 redevelopment to start next year), Ravenhill 18,000. That leaves Pearse and another needing refurbishment. We already receive nearly 3 times more visitors per annum than New Zealand so I don’t get the fuss about accommodation. Are country is more compact and accessible than New Zealand so hosting this tournament is less of a challenge for us than it was fore New Zealand.
While I agree that the rugby grounds mentioned and Croke park are of a high standard, I dont think arenas such as Pairc Ui Chaoimh are up to the standard of an international tournament like this. Thats not supposed to be a cut down or whatever, I just compare the level of most of the GAA stadiums with, for example, a number of stadiums from past tournaments, and theres a big difference.
I was in New Zealand two years ago. Rotarua and New Plymouth (two places we played) were basically two stands on either side and a grassy hill on either end of the pitch. Some of the other stadia weren’t much better if not worse. There were no issues except for maybe some mucky shoes. Rugby fans don’t need as much supervision and segregation as some other sports and most of the security and supervision was done by volunteers. We could definitely pull this off to a high standard if the effort is put in.
By football, I presume you mean soccer… Its a bit of a non entity in Ireland apart from people spending their money on celebrity endorsed shirts from other countries.
What soccer stadiums would you suggest we use for the Rugby World Cup?
Phenomenal arrogance on display chaps. I’m a fan of both sports but some rugby fans can’t stop themselves. Soccer is the most played sport in this country and for supporters slating league of Ireland attendances and fans is a bit rich considering the all Ireland league and the state that its in
The population of Ireland is actually 6.9 million, that’s a good bit more than 4-5 million.We always sell ourselves short with this lazy misconception.
Arrogant West Brits!! How dare they request the All-Irelands be played two or three weeks earlier – thereby helping to avoid the mess of clubs playing up to 6 matches in two and a half weeks and club finals in November – to better facilitate a global event which would be worth hundreds of millions to the country! Makes my blood boil!
Turin Grand Prix of 1946 was the first F1 grand prix. As far as I know there has never been an Irish F1 grand prix. There were races in phoenix park (called the Irish grand prix) but it was not an F1 grand prix. F1 didnt exist at the time
Brilliant idea. With the GAA on board there’s plenty of stadiums large enough. Cork, Limerick, Galway, Belfast and Dublin could host matches easily with that necessary transport and accommodation.
We could host it yeah for sure. More clubs in cork? That is irrelevant this the World Cup we’re talking about not the all Ireland. Irish people like when their teams do well just like anybody else. How can football(soccer) be more popular than rugby when they can’t sell out the same stadium 24 hours prior even with Roy Keane!
It’s a great idea! Would love to see it happen. And to all the depressed naysayers I say phbbbbbb… Articulate I know but c’mon, the facilities are mostly already in existence. There are airports all over the country for folks who would maybe only want to come in for the weekend from UK or France. We have motorways going from all the major cities connecting to each other. We could do with upgrading the rail network a bit but that stands regardless of RWC or not. Access structural funds to build a rail line from Cork to Galway direct and put in a rail link to Shannon while we there. It’s silly that an international airport is out in the middle of a field the way Shannon is anyways. We have ten years to do it and it could easily be done if people stopped whinging about why it won’t work and actually put a bit of effort into doing something positive. And we will still be able to do with the money in 2023!
This could easily happen. Really all you need is 8 stadiums of mixed sizes. 2 per group. Ideally we need one other 40k plus stadium outside Dublin. Semple stadium isnt an option so I suppose the redeveloped gaa in cork is the best. Final-croke park
Semi-croke park & cork
Quarters aviva, cork, ,thoumond, croker.
Groups Ravenhill, killarney,nolan park,sportsgrounds.
As always in rugby, half the group games will be minos and don’t require 40k plus stadiums. Just good tourist locations are required. Kilkenny,killarney, galway could hold smaller matches.
I wouldn’t get overly excited at the moment. For Ireland to secure the necessary votes to host the RUWC it would require the other 6 nations to drop out of the race and then Ireland would need at least the votes of Scotland, Wales & either England or France to get the decision. To ensure those votes Ireland will have to give something to the aforementioned countries, like if Wales have New Zealand in their group, then Wales V NZ would be played in Cardiff.
The IRFU and FAI could learn a thing or two from the GAA on how to run their games, at this moment in time hurling and Gaelic football are the 2 biggest sports on the Irish sporting landscape. It took the IRFU and FAI 20 years or arseing about before finally building a stadium that ended up 20,000 seats short of the required capacity for major games.
Meanwhile the GAA built the far superior Croke park for a fraction of the price.
The GAA has never been in a stronger position. Don’t get me wrong im a fan of all sports and love nothing better than seeing Ireland soccer and rugby teams do well but I can’t stand idiots like you bashing the GAA, one of the best things about being Irish.
As John Mullane said after this years all Ireland final, “thank god for hurling”
neither the IEFU or FAI wanted an extra 20k seats, they only fill the stadium a handful of times ever year. the added costs involved for an extra 20k seats wouldn’t make financial sense
Brian you mean the yuppies that live near Lansdowne objected to a larger stadium, if it was built up on on all four sides rather than three is would have had a 60,000 capacity.
France, England and Wales home matches in the 6 nations regularly attracted sell outs of 82,000. Add in a couple of tests against NZ, SA, and Australia with big crowds. Where do the extra 30,000 who attended those 6 nations games in Croke park go now for tickets?
at most there’s 3, 6 nations matches a year. we only play test sides at home every 2 years. so really your looking at a full house 5 times a year. now the matches that don’t sell out, look pretty pathetic as there the stadium will look pretty empty.
I’ve played in lansdowne with crowds of around 17K from a players point of view all you see is an empty stadium.
Then there’s added costs associated with maintaining a larger stadium
We hosted games yes, but officially England were the ’91 hosts and Wales the ’99 ones. It did i suppose feel like all the five nations(as they were then) were hosting and thats probably what would happen if ireland were declared hosts except the final would be in the Aviva.
Stadiums would need to be upgraded starting now ,Croke park is not finished one end is completely open it would need to be fully seated,Thomond is too small for a major match ,Aviva probably the only one suitable although they still couldn’t get that right as one end is at odds with the rest of it.
Man where have you been the last few years, Croke Park hosted soccer internationals for several years with seats in Hill 16!
Ireland could host the World Cup, but a lot of work would have to be put into the GAA stadiums to get them up to scratch for international standards. Another big problem in my view is the size of our urban centres where matches would be played- outside of Dublin they are very small even compared to the NZ host cities and wouldn’t have the hotels etc to cater for the big crowds. It could be done alone by Ireland but would have a lot better of a chance as a Celtic World Cup, with 8 host cities of maybe Dublin, Limerick, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen/Dundee, Swansea and Cardiff.
Nothing wrong with our urban centres, Dublin and Belfast alone are more than big enough In fact larger cities than any in New Zealand. Cork is more than big enough. Limerick already hosts matches through Thomond Park. Galway is ideal with plenty of hotels. Honestly your point is nonsense.
Shane how is it nonsense, you obviously haven’t a clue about the population of New Zealand’s urban centres have you. The host cities were Whangerei population 52,000, North Shore 229,000, Auckland 450,000, Hamilton 150,000, Rotorua 68,000, New Plymouth 53,000, Napier/Hastings 130,000, Palmerston North 85,000, Wellington 395,000, Nelson 47,000, Dunedin 120,000 and Invercargill 53,000.
Dublin is bigger than any of these but that is it, then Belfast 400,000 Cork 130,000, Limerick 90,000, Galway 80,000 and where else have they got decent stadiums in Ireland, Tralee 20,000 maybe, Thurles 10,000, Castlebar 20,000. You would need to build brand new stadiums in Derry and Waterford for them to be included and they only have a population of 90,000 and 50,000 respectively. So even compared to New Zealand host cities they would be on the smaller size host cities, and as New Zealand has a massive tourist industry they already had the accommodation infrastructure whereas we don’t have as many rooms relative to them.
Wouldn’t our comparatively tiny size make it far easier for a tourist following the World Cup stay in one urban centre and go to a match in another? That wasn’t really possible in New Zealand, nor will it be in Japan in 2019.
Pat the point is we don’t have to be like New Zealand to host the World Cup.We don’t have to use 12 host cities. Now the urban centres you have listed are not massive relative to what we have. Both Belfast and Dublin could host to venues and have more than adequate capacity and hotels to do so. Cork, Limerick and Galway will have no problems hosting as they have plenty of towns around to absorb additional fans. Remember we are not as isolated as New Zealand so many spectators will fly in and out from UK and France that they could not do as easily say in New Zealand. Our infrastructure is reasonably good to cope.Our stadiums are and will be of high quality with Pairc Ui Chaoimh and Casement already on the redevelopment process. Lets be ambitious rather than restrictive about our potential.
Talking out your arse mate.I was at the Rwc2011 and already the GAA stadium are better than most we were in.For example Rotorua stadium 3/4 of it is a grass bank with one covered stand.At any stadium I was at most of the stands were temporary and invariably the toilets were portoloos.The stadiums here are ready..The transport infrastructure is better with NZ having only 1 motorway which passes thru Auckland and we have a good rail networkemultiple international airports and ferry connections.The cities,pubs/clubs and Gardai/PSNI are used to handling big match day crowds.the Irish bid is a good realistic one which I hope succeeds
FIFA won’t let any other competitions from different sports to be played in any stadiums used in the year of a football world cup. Is it the same with rugby?
What I am asking can the All Ireland final be played in Croker the year rugby world cup games could be played in the stadium. I know its a Monday Colm but please read comments more closely.
Zero chance of this happening. Stadium infrastructure is abysmal in this country and would need massive investment. Also, there are nowhere near enough hotel rooms to accommodate people. Pure PR nonsense.
The issue is accommodation and infrastructure. Was at the world cup and at matches in most of the host cities. Some of the grounds like Rotorua and New Plymouth were nowhere near as big as some of the GAA grounds here, they even had grass embankments instead of terracing behind the posts. Nelson had a capacity of around 12000, maybe less, if memory serves.
We receive over 6 million visitors per annum compared to New Zealand’s 2.5 million. So tell me how we don’t have enough hotel beds. The country is awash with hotels.
New Zealand doesn’t have a stadium to match Croke Park or even Aviva. Add redeveloped Pairc Ui Chaoimh and Casement on top of Thomond and Ravenhill and we are well on our way. A bid would only require refurbishments to 2 more GAA grounds, (Pearse and another) and we have plenty of stadiums for bid.
Hotels won’t cut it. Vast majority of people at the world cup in New Zealand stayed at fully serviced campsites, not hotels. Huge camper van culture over there as opposed to here, myself included!!! Dep.
There was no bother getting accommodation in hotels on non match nights. On match days it was a different animal, unless booked well, well in advance or at an astronomical price. My information is my experience vanning it around for the month!!
Yes, people stayed in campsites in NZ because their weren’t enough hotels. Ireland has plenty of hotels and plenty of campsites too. Can’t see the issue, we are awash with hotels.
Again we’re probably going to propose having two stadiums in one city which is just not acceptable for any tournament. It would be Aviva, Thomond, Ravenhill(maybe) with it being shared with the Millenium, Twickenham, Murrayfield and probably Parc de Princes as well. When the World cup was in Wales how many games were actually played in that country?
We only have three decent sized stadiums in croker, aviva and thomond park. Where else would world cup matches be played?
A joint bid with Wales and Scotland would be more much sensible ( if it’s allowed ) that way we could throw the Millenium stadium, Hamden Park and Murrayfield in the mix
Semple stadium 53,000
Páirc Uí chaoimh 43,000
Gaelic grounds 50,000
Fitzgerald 40,000??
Clones 40,000??
Pierce 35,000??
yes no decent sized stadium, did you look at the NZ´s stadiums for the rwc?
A lot smaller. i would be more worried about accommodation etc
Sure a couple of the stadiums used in the New Zealand World Cup still had grass banks instead of actual stands. Another was smaller than Parnell Park. I doubt quality of stadia will be the problem.
Rugby does not have the same requirements as soccer. The stadia are not the issue, nor is accommodation really. Fans can easily base themselves in say Cork and travel to Dublin. People will rent out their own houses for this!! I genuinely cannot see an issue bar the politics involved in a successful bid. Oh, and the massive guarantee required by the IRB.
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Unlikely but certainly doable. There are plenty of decent size stadiums in Ireland and if the IRFU was to pay to upgrade the facilities of some of the GAA stadiums for use then it seems like it would be good for everyone.
The rugby world cup isn’t the Olympics or football world cup, it’s actually fairly small. Would certainly bring in a serious chunk of change to the country.
Far from small it is. From Q-final stages you get easily 50-60 thousand plus attendances. The group stages always have one or two massive games. So in the space of one month we could have 12 international matches with attendances in excess of 50,000 people. It’s a huge event.
Think about it guys. The stadia that would be most suitable for a Rugby World Cup to be held in Ireland include:
1)Aviva Stadium
2)Croke Park (It should hold the final as well. The GAA wouldn’t dare turn it down just because it isn’t an Irish sport. They need to get over that. They are holding a college football game next year, so really it should be no different to accept this proposal if it ever happens.)
3) The RDS
4) Thomond Park
5) Ravenhill
6) Pairc ui Chaoimh (It’s undergoing redevelopment and with over 50000 plus capacity)
7) The Sportsground
8) Maybe Casement Park?
I mean, there’s a wide variety of stadia in this country that would be perfect in hosting World Cup games, so really, there should be no problem for Ireland to bid to host the 2022 World Cup.
Sorry, I meant 2023. My bad.
Its 2023 Rugby World Cup :-)
Your prob gettin red thumbed cause of the croke park comment in brackets. It refers to it in the article..
Oh dear Bilbo. I think I just demonstrated similar qualities to Captain Obvious.
Lol
:-)
Casement Park is getting a huge redevelopment turning into 45,000 all seater so it will definitely be used. RDS will not be used as is currently three temporary stands and and a shed. Two venues will be enough in Dublin anyway.
Yea you can put windsor park maybe on that list as this is a united island team then the even should be held both sides of the border
Sorry did not see ravenhill on the list
I’d say definitely Casement. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=440520696024972&set=a.345242192219490.78399.267281003348943&type=1&theater
Small in comparison to the Football world cup which would be around the 3 million mark. It would be a huge undertaking for Ireland but it is conceivable. Bit surprised it is solo bid though, would certainly be more likely with the Welsh on board.
Add to that pierce stadium Galway… More hotel rooms than limerick +motor way to Dublin.
McHale park mayo also an option all flood light.. Knock airport on its doorstep … Huge amount of Hotel rooms in Mayo..
Both of these grounds are far superior to some of the grounds that staged group games in New Zealand…
I remember this all kicked off when somebody text the idea to off the ball. At first they where sceptical of the idea. A large amount of texters then got involved pointing to reasons as to why is could work, they then done a segment on the subject with economists and sports people and then they approached the minister who said he was all for the idea. It would be great for the country to think big and host a major tournament. Here’s hoping we do it and do it better than anyone else has.
2023 thanks be to jasus I’ll be tits up by then.
seems like you have the same pension plan as me!!!
Sick of the naysayers.
Stadia Croke Park 82,000, Aviva 50,000, Thomond 26,000, Pairc Ui Chaoimh ( Planned 45,000 seat redevelopment to start next year), Casement (45,000 redevelopment to start next year), Ravenhill 18,000. That leaves Pearse and another needing refurbishment. We already receive nearly 3 times more visitors per annum than New Zealand so I don’t get the fuss about accommodation. Are country is more compact and accessible than New Zealand so hosting this tournament is less of a challenge for us than it was fore New Zealand.
While I agree that the rugby grounds mentioned and Croke park are of a high standard, I dont think arenas such as Pairc Ui Chaoimh are up to the standard of an international tournament like this. Thats not supposed to be a cut down or whatever, I just compare the level of most of the GAA stadiums with, for example, a number of stadiums from past tournaments, and theres a big difference.
I was in New Zealand two years ago. Rotarua and New Plymouth (two places we played) were basically two stands on either side and a grassy hill on either end of the pitch. Some of the other stadia weren’t much better if not worse. There were no issues except for maybe some mucky shoes. Rugby fans don’t need as much supervision and segregation as some other sports and most of the security and supervision was done by volunteers. We could definitely pull this off to a high standard if the effort is put in.
What about fitzgerald stadium as it stands it can hold 43,000
Nice free advert for dhl
By football, I presume you mean soccer… Its a bit of a non entity in Ireland apart from people spending their money on celebrity endorsed shirts from other countries.
What soccer stadiums would you suggest we use for the Rugby World Cup?
Yolks Pk for the semies for sure..lol
Good man Paulie. The only grounds that matter to the soccer people of this country are in Britain really.
Phenomenal arrogance on display chaps. I’m a fan of both sports but some rugby fans can’t stop themselves. Soccer is the most played sport in this country and for supporters slating league of Ireland attendances and fans is a bit rich considering the all Ireland league and the state that its in
The population of Ireland is actually 6.9 million, that’s a good bit more than 4-5 million.We always sell ourselves short with this lazy misconception.
Didn’t the goys in the IRFU want to GAA to move the date of the all-Ireland to suit them. Arrogant or what!
Arrogant West Brits!! How dare they request the All-Irelands be played two or three weeks earlier – thereby helping to avoid the mess of clubs playing up to 6 matches in two and a half weeks and club finals in November – to better facilitate a global event which would be worth hundreds of millions to the country! Makes my blood boil!
What next, The Irish Grand Prix.
Ireland held the first F1 grand prix in the Pheonix Park… Just saying
The cricket world cup
Turin Grand Prix of 1946 was the first F1 grand prix. As far as I know there has never been an Irish F1 grand prix. There were races in phoenix park (called the Irish grand prix) but it was not an F1 grand prix. F1 didnt exist at the time
Brilliant idea. With the GAA on board there’s plenty of stadiums large enough. Cork, Limerick, Galway, Belfast and Dublin could host matches easily with that necessary transport and accommodation.
We could host it yeah for sure. More clubs in cork? That is irrelevant this the World Cup we’re talking about not the all Ireland. Irish people like when their teams do well just like anybody else. How can football(soccer) be more popular than rugby when they can’t sell out the same stadium 24 hours prior even with Roy Keane!
It’s a great idea! Would love to see it happen. And to all the depressed naysayers I say phbbbbbb… Articulate I know but c’mon, the facilities are mostly already in existence. There are airports all over the country for folks who would maybe only want to come in for the weekend from UK or France. We have motorways going from all the major cities connecting to each other. We could do with upgrading the rail network a bit but that stands regardless of RWC or not. Access structural funds to build a rail line from Cork to Galway direct and put in a rail link to Shannon while we there. It’s silly that an international airport is out in the middle of a field the way Shannon is anyways. We have ten years to do it and it could easily be done if people stopped whinging about why it won’t work and actually put a bit of effort into doing something positive. And we will still be able to do with the money in 2023!
This could easily happen. Really all you need is 8 stadiums of mixed sizes. 2 per group. Ideally we need one other 40k plus stadium outside Dublin. Semple stadium isnt an option so I suppose the redeveloped gaa in cork is the best. Final-croke park
Semi-croke park & cork
Quarters aviva, cork, ,thoumond, croker.
Groups Ravenhill, killarney,nolan park,sportsgrounds.
As always in rugby, half the group games will be minos and don’t require 40k plus stadiums. Just good tourist locations are required. Kilkenny,killarney, galway could hold smaller matches.
I wouldn’t get overly excited at the moment. For Ireland to secure the necessary votes to host the RUWC it would require the other 6 nations to drop out of the race and then Ireland would need at least the votes of Scotland, Wales & either England or France to get the decision. To ensure those votes Ireland will have to give something to the aforementioned countries, like if Wales have New Zealand in their group, then Wales V NZ would be played in Cardiff.
Great idea, would be brilliant if we could host a major sporting event, besides the special Olympics.
As time passes I’ve grown to have a strong dislike for the GAA. Anytime a proposition of this kind is suggested the main obstacle is always the GAA.
GAA = holding back Irish sport
The GAA support this. The GAA does more in the communities up and down this country than any other sport. Whats your problem?
Crawl back into your cave good man.
The IRFU and FAI could learn a thing or two from the GAA on how to run their games, at this moment in time hurling and Gaelic football are the 2 biggest sports on the Irish sporting landscape. It took the IRFU and FAI 20 years or arseing about before finally building a stadium that ended up 20,000 seats short of the required capacity for major games.
Meanwhile the GAA built the far superior Croke park for a fraction of the price.
The GAA has never been in a stronger position. Don’t get me wrong im a fan of all sports and love nothing better than seeing Ireland soccer and rugby teams do well but I can’t stand idiots like you bashing the GAA, one of the best things about being Irish.
As John Mullane said after this years all Ireland final, “thank god for hurling”
Joe,
neither the IEFU or FAI wanted an extra 20k seats, they only fill the stadium a handful of times ever year. the added costs involved for an extra 20k seats wouldn’t make financial sense
Brian you mean the yuppies that live near Lansdowne objected to a larger stadium, if it was built up on on all four sides rather than three is would have had a 60,000 capacity.
France, England and Wales home matches in the 6 nations regularly attracted sell outs of 82,000. Add in a couple of tests against NZ, SA, and Australia with big crowds. Where do the extra 30,000 who attended those 6 nations games in Croke park go now for tickets?
Joe,
at most there’s 3, 6 nations matches a year. we only play test sides at home every 2 years. so really your looking at a full house 5 times a year. now the matches that don’t sell out, look pretty pathetic as there the stadium will look pretty empty.
I’ve played in lansdowne with crowds of around 17K from a players point of view all you see is an empty stadium.
Then there’s added costs associated with maintaining a larger stadium
we did co host it in 91 and 99.
We hosted games yes, but officially England were the ’91 hosts and Wales the ’99 ones. It did i suppose feel like all the five nations(as they were then) were hosting and thats probably what would happen if ireland were declared hosts except the final would be in the Aviva.
Stadiums would need to be upgraded starting now ,Croke park is not finished one end is completely open it would need to be fully seated,Thomond is too small for a major match ,Aviva probably the only one suitable although they still couldn’t get that right as one end is at odds with the rest of it.
Man where have you been the last few years, Croke Park hosted soccer internationals for several years with seats in Hill 16!
Ireland could host the World Cup, but a lot of work would have to be put into the GAA stadiums to get them up to scratch for international standards. Another big problem in my view is the size of our urban centres where matches would be played- outside of Dublin they are very small even compared to the NZ host cities and wouldn’t have the hotels etc to cater for the big crowds. It could be done alone by Ireland but would have a lot better of a chance as a Celtic World Cup, with 8 host cities of maybe Dublin, Limerick, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen/Dundee, Swansea and Cardiff.
No need for all seater stadiums for the Rugby World Cup.
Nothing wrong with our urban centres, Dublin and Belfast alone are more than big enough In fact larger cities than any in New Zealand. Cork is more than big enough. Limerick already hosts matches through Thomond Park. Galway is ideal with plenty of hotels. Honestly your point is nonsense.
Shane how is it nonsense, you obviously haven’t a clue about the population of New Zealand’s urban centres have you. The host cities were Whangerei population 52,000, North Shore 229,000, Auckland 450,000, Hamilton 150,000, Rotorua 68,000, New Plymouth 53,000, Napier/Hastings 130,000, Palmerston North 85,000, Wellington 395,000, Nelson 47,000, Dunedin 120,000 and Invercargill 53,000.
Dublin is bigger than any of these but that is it, then Belfast 400,000 Cork 130,000, Limerick 90,000, Galway 80,000 and where else have they got decent stadiums in Ireland, Tralee 20,000 maybe, Thurles 10,000, Castlebar 20,000. You would need to build brand new stadiums in Derry and Waterford for them to be included and they only have a population of 90,000 and 50,000 respectively. So even compared to New Zealand host cities they would be on the smaller size host cities, and as New Zealand has a massive tourist industry they already had the accommodation infrastructure whereas we don’t have as many rooms relative to them.
Wouldn’t our comparatively tiny size make it far easier for a tourist following the World Cup stay in one urban centre and go to a match in another? That wasn’t really possible in New Zealand, nor will it be in Japan in 2019.
Pat the point is we don’t have to be like New Zealand to host the World Cup.We don’t have to use 12 host cities. Now the urban centres you have listed are not massive relative to what we have. Both Belfast and Dublin could host to venues and have more than adequate capacity and hotels to do so. Cork, Limerick and Galway will have no problems hosting as they have plenty of towns around to absorb additional fans. Remember we are not as isolated as New Zealand so many spectators will fly in and out from UK and France that they could not do as easily say in New Zealand. Our infrastructure is reasonably good to cope.Our stadiums are and will be of high quality with Pairc Ui Chaoimh and Casement already on the redevelopment process. Lets be ambitious rather than restrictive about our potential.
Talking out your arse mate.I was at the Rwc2011 and already the GAA stadium are better than most we were in.For example Rotorua stadium 3/4 of it is a grass bank with one covered stand.At any stadium I was at most of the stands were temporary and invariably the toilets were portoloos.The stadiums here are ready..The transport infrastructure is better with NZ having only 1 motorway which passes thru Auckland and we have a good rail networkemultiple international airports and ferry connections.The cities,pubs/clubs and Gardai/PSNI are used to handling big match day crowds.the Irish bid is a good realistic one which I hope succeeds
“but you can’t honestly say Ireland’s not a rugby-mad country either”
Keith, bit of perspective please, Ireland is not a rugby-mad country. Jesus.
Great idea
FIFA won’t let any other competitions from different sports to be played in any stadiums used in the year of a football world cup. Is it the same with rugby?
What are you on about there on different years and the world cup is on in Qatar not Ireland
That’s not what he’s asking
What I am asking can the All Ireland final be played in Croker the year rugby world cup games could be played in the stadium. I know its a Monday Colm but please read comments more closely.
Ireland play end the Adelaide oval in the 2003 World Cup which is a cricket and Aussie rules stadium so I assume it’s not an issue in rugby
Played even
Would be news if keith Woods was not behind it. A bit “dog bites man “
Rugby…Zzzzzzz….
Zero chance of this happening. Stadium infrastructure is abysmal in this country and would need massive investment. Also, there are nowhere near enough hotel rooms to accommodate people. Pure PR nonsense.
The issue is accommodation and infrastructure. Was at the world cup and at matches in most of the host cities. Some of the grounds like Rotorua and New Plymouth were nowhere near as big as some of the GAA grounds here, they even had grass embankments instead of terracing behind the posts. Nelson had a capacity of around 12000, maybe less, if memory serves.
Any successful bid begins and ends with the GAA.
We receive over 6 million visitors per annum compared to New Zealand’s 2.5 million. So tell me how we don’t have enough hotel beds. The country is awash with hotels.
New Zealand doesn’t have a stadium to match Croke Park or even Aviva. Add redeveloped Pairc Ui Chaoimh and Casement on top of Thomond and Ravenhill and we are well on our way. A bid would only require refurbishments to 2 more GAA grounds, (Pearse and another) and we have plenty of stadiums for bid.
Hotels won’t cut it. Vast majority of people at the world cup in New Zealand stayed at fully serviced campsites, not hotels. Huge camper van culture over there as opposed to here, myself included!!! Dep.
Where r u getting your info simon? Most ppl I know of stayed in hostels or hotels while at matches. Even the ppl with camper vans.
There was no bother getting accommodation in hotels on non match nights. On match days it was a different animal, unless booked well, well in advance or at an astronomical price. My information is my experience vanning it around for the month!!
Yes, people stayed in campsites in NZ because their weren’t enough hotels. Ireland has plenty of hotels and plenty of campsites too. Can’t see the issue, we are awash with hotels.
A dumb priest never got a parish. Why shouldn’t we try to host the rugby World Cup?
Again we’re probably going to propose having two stadiums in one city which is just not acceptable for any tournament. It would be Aviva, Thomond, Ravenhill(maybe) with it being shared with the Millenium, Twickenham, Murrayfield and probably Parc de Princes as well. When the World cup was in Wales how many games were actually played in that country?
Auckland had two in last WC
Dream big. Ireland 2023, let’s show the world how far we’ve come.
We only have three decent sized stadiums in croker, aviva and thomond park. Where else would world cup matches be played?
A joint bid with Wales and Scotland would be more much sensible ( if it’s allowed ) that way we could throw the Millenium stadium, Hamden Park and Murrayfield in the mix
Semple stadium 53,000
Páirc Uí chaoimh 43,000
Gaelic grounds 50,000
Fitzgerald 40,000??
Clones 40,000??
Pierce 35,000??
yes no decent sized stadium, did you look at the NZ´s stadiums for the rwc?
A lot smaller. i would be more worried about accommodation etc
Castlebar 42,000 all seater too
Most of those stadia would have to be demolished and rebuilt, they are nowhere near the standard required. Where will to money come from?
Sure a couple of the stadiums used in the New Zealand World Cup still had grass banks instead of actual stands. Another was smaller than Parnell Park. I doubt quality of stadia will be the problem.
Rugby does not have the same requirements as soccer. The stadia are not the issue, nor is accommodation really. Fans can easily base themselves in say Cork and travel to Dublin. People will rent out their own houses for this!! I genuinely cannot see an issue bar the politics involved in a successful bid. Oh, and the massive guarantee required by the IRB.
Im confused. Im from Cork. What has this to do with Dublin?
I wonder is Keith FG supporter.