World Rugby to visit Ireland on March 21st as World Cup bidding process hots up

Ireland will welcome a technical review group from World Rugby on March 21st as the bidding process for the 2023 Rugby World Cup gathers pace.

The three nations who are candidates to host the tournament - Ireland, South Africa and France - are due to submit their detailed bid documents to World Rugby on June 1st.

And ahead of this, each country will receive their first official visit from World Rugby in March.

South Africa will be the first to be visited on March 13-15th, Ireland on March 21st-22nd and finally France on March 30th-31st.

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In a statement World Rugby outlined the purpose of the visits: “The visits will provide an opportunity for candidates to discuss bid plans in detail, clarify any questions on the technical aspects or bid process and allow World Rugby to meet with government representatives.

“World Rugby will also use the occasion to reiterate all expectations regarding guarantees and requirements to ensure a fair and transparent bidding process.”

World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said: “We have three very strong and passionate candidates vying for selection as host of Rugby World Cup 2023 - all of whom are capable of hosting a fantastic tournament.

“With the support of their respective governments, each candidate is working hard to develop their final submission documents ahead of the June deadline as they seek to bring to life their plans to stage tournaments that will not only be great for rugby but great for their nation. Rugby World Cup has demonstrated through past tournaments that it is a low investment, high-return proposition with proven benefits for host nations.

“The upcoming visits will provide us with an important opportunity to monitor progress leading into the final weeks of the bid phase and we look forward to discovering more details about the compelling concepts of France, Ireland and South Africa later this month.”

All three candidates were formally accepted by World Rugby following the application phase in October last year.

The 2023 host union will be selected by the World Rugby Council on November 15th.