Ireland bank on star power

LONDON: Bono and Liam Neeson will add star power to Ireland’s bid to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup as the contenders go head to head with France and South Africa in London today.

France and South Africa have hosted the tournament before but Ireland are pushing to host it in full for the first time.

They held some matches during the 1991 and 1999 events.

The World Rugby Council will hear the presentations and the Rugby World Cup Board will make its recommendation on Oct 31 before the final decision on who will host the 10th edition is made on Nov 15.

France has a proven track record in hosting major events, most recently Euro 2016, together with impressive infrastructure.

But the French federation was made to issue a humiliating public apology by World Rugby for tweeting they were the best of the trio based on the world governing body’s figures.

The Irish are bidding to host their biggest-ever sporting event — and will be emboldened by their successful staging of the women’s version this year.

The Republic of Ireland’s Taoiseach (prime minister) Leo Varadkar will be in the presentation team with rock star Bono and actor Liam Neeson as well as Bob Geldof.

Neeson has done the voiceover for a video and Geldof recites a poem.

The key message is that with a worldwide diaspora of 70 million, an Irish bid can attract countless new followers to the sport and help crack the North America market, with 35 million Irish Americans in the United States.

Like France, South Africa has a proven track record in hosting major events including the 2010 football World Cup and 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, which also left them a valuable legacy in stadium facilities.

The country entertains huge swathes of tourists every year, making it look an attractive contender.

It has a notoriously high crime right although, unlike France, has not been a target of terror attacks.

The government has belatedly swung behind the bid, only coming on board in mid-2017 because they felt racial transformation targets had not been met.

The South Africans have pledged £160 million (RM908 million) — the highest of the three bidders — but a struggling domestic economy, which could affect home fans’ attendance, and a poor rail network could count against them.

They will hope familiarity does not breed contempt as this is their fourth successive bid. AFP