WRC 2023: It should be in Ireland

Heart or cash? That’s the decision World Rugby must make with regards to which country hosts the 2023 World Cup.

France, Ireland and South Africa are the countries vying to host the tournament and a council appointed by World Rugby will make its recommendation tonight (NZT).

It would be unlikely World Rugby would go against that decision when it announces the host on Wednesday, November 15.

Japan will host the World Cup for the first time in 2019. It’s a tournament which isn’t expected to raise the revenue that the last one did in England and Wales. World Rugby are notoriously concerned about the collection of revenue which might tip the odds in the favour of France, which has three stadiums that can hold crowds of more than 60,000.

France’s bid stated it will make 40 per cent more than England 2015 — a staggering total of $500 million. Neither Ireland nor South Africa, the two emotional favourites, can compete with that as France bid head Bernard Laporte has admitted.

“It is fair to say that both of those bids have an emotional element,” Laporte told the UK Telegraph last week. “All the bids have something special.

“Our positives are the financial aspect, the quality of the stadiums, the infrastructures with the airports and TGVs, hotels too. It will cost nothing to the French taxpayer. No rises, nothing to pay. It does not cost the state anything.”

France hosts the Olympics a year later, so the infrastructure will be in place, and the excellent, high-speed TGV rail system will contrive to make the big country much smaller for teams, officials and supporters.

But it is easy to imagine the tournament being played out in France without it causing much of a ripple with the local population and that’s probably not something that will happen in South Africa, a rugby stronghold which is using its watershed tournament of 1995 to pull on the heartstrings, or Ireland.

In fact, France have contrived to attempt to find favour with World Rugby by using Jonah Lomu’s sons, Brayley and Dhyreille, in promotional roles, a decision which Ireland’s Independent newspaper described as “disturbing”.

South Africa’s bid has it hosting the final at the 94,000-capacity FNB Stadium in Soweto and has offered the famous images of former Boks skipper Francois Pienaar and Nelson Mandela from 1995 as reasons to be given the nod.

Many of the matches would be held in the cities of Soweto, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Nelspruit in the north-east of the country. Cape Town would no doubt capture the imagination of the supporters and television viewers everywhere.

But Ireland surely deserves it (for the first time) for the sheer enthusiasm the country would provide — much like New Zealand in 2011. It was felt that New Zealand’s tournament couldn’t compete financially with bigger countries but the country got behind it and the same would apply with Ireland, which has indicated that pool matches, a quarter-final, and the final would be held at Dublin’s Croke Park a Gaelic football stronghold where rugby is rarely played.

New Zealand 2011 wasn’t expected to be a big money spinner, but before England 2015 it was the second most profitable behind France 2007.

Ireland could also surpass expectations. Insiders say the republic just needed the confidence to go for it and have been amazed at how it has galvanised and united the people.

France, in theory, might make money but it won’t have the emotional impact of Ireland’s 12 hosting centres and the Emerald Isle as a whole.