Pic: Wonderful Touch By Irish Rugby As World Rugby Officials Examine RWC 2023 Bid

This is class.

World Rugby officials today landed in Dublin to visit the Aviva Stadium and Croke Park as part of their review of Ireland’s bid to host to 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Ireland are up against France and South Africa in the race to host tournament, but are believed to be the frontrunners to host the world spectacle. A World Rugby technical group met Ireland’s Bid Oversight Board, which includes former Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll and will travel the country over the next couple of days.

The group were welcomed to Ireland by President Michael D. Higgins who ‘spoke eloquently’ about the Ireland 2023 bid.

There are 12 potential venues currently on Ireland’s list, but this will be reduced to eight or 10 for the actual tournament staging. Eight GAA grounds form the bulk of the list alongside famous rugby stadia including Ireland’s national ground, the Aviva Stadium (Dublin) along with Thomond Park (Limerick), Ravenhill (Belfast) and the RDS (Dublin).

Croke Park (Dublin), Pairc Ui Chaoimh (Cork), Casement Park (Belfast), Fitzgerald Stadium (Kerry), Pearse Stadium (Galway), McHale Park (Mayo), Nowlan Park (Kilkenny) and Celtic Park (Derry) are all part of the Board’s proposal.

In wonderful touch, Irish Rugby erected an amazing picture of Ireland’s famous fixture with England in Croke Park back in 2007 for their guests to admire.