France have been revealed as the host for the Rugby World Cup 2023. They were surprisingly named the winner after a secret ballot in London today. The bid was a massive disappointment for Ireland, who finished with a mere 8 votes in total.
The reaction to the news was certainly divided.
Wow, Tokyo RWC 2019, Olympics 2020; France RWC 2023, Paris Olympics 2024 ... small world #RWC2023
— Ian O'Riordan (@ianoriordan) November 15, 2017
South Africa lost the #RWC2023 and that's good. World Cups event never brought any sustainable quality economic development to any country!
— Mbuyiseni Ndlozi (@MbuyiseniNdlozi) November 15, 2017
France v Boks on Saturday got a lot more interesting...#RWC2023
— Craig Ray (@craigray11) November 15, 2017
So Ireland are crap at the transparent bit and the sneaky behind the scenes murky deals bit #rwc2023 🇫🇷
— Simon Hick (@hicksimon) November 15, 2017
Looks like the voting machines were rigged ?? #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/40vvzHauGU
— Gordon D'Arcy (@Gordonwdarcy) November 15, 2017
Very disappointment but very proud of the effort that went in to #ireland2023. We left nothing on the pitch! 🤷🏻♂️
— Brian O'Driscoll (@BrianODriscoll) November 15, 2017
Secret ballots with elected officials ... now that's professional transparency ... World Rugby every bit as dirty and disgusting as FIFA ... Disgraceful #RWC2023
— Mark Keohane (@mark_keohane) November 15, 2017
SA Rugby said it was “bitterly disappointed” at the decision by the World Rugby Council to overturn a recommendation that South Africa should host the 2023 Rugby World Cup and instead voted for France to host the tournament in a secret ballot.
— Springboks (@Springboks) November 15, 2017
“World Rugby ran exhaustive, transparent process for 15 months to identify best host nation, only for the process to go entirely opaque for past two weeks. The view of the experts and World Rugby’s leadership was overturned by @WorldRugby Council members: Jurie Roux SA Rugby CEO
— Springboks (@Springboks) November 15, 2017
Leinster and Ireland Gary Ringrose commented
I’m obviously hugely disappointed that we were unsuccessful in our bid to host the Rugby World Cup in 2023, but I’d like to wish France all the very best in their preparations for the tournament. To have come this far in the bidding process is a huge achievement for a country of our size. Our bid team must take immense credit for all their hard work throughout the process.
It would have been a huge honour and privilege for the people of Ireland to host the world for a few special weeks and for us to represent them. Hopefully we might get that opportunity again sometime in the future.
Former Ireland and Ulster back-row Stephen Ferris had this to say:
Having played in New Zealand in 2011, I’ve seen at first-hand how special an experience a World Cup can be. Despite playing in places like Auckland and Dunedin, it felt as though we were the home team as all of the Irish in that part of the world seemed to come out and support us.
I believe that a tournament in Ireland would have been like no other. I was hugely excited by the prospect and at the thought of all of those Irish people throughout the world coming home.
The decision will result in severe criticism for World Rugby, who published an independent report last month recommending South Africa as the most suitable host.
