Rugby World Cup ‘benefits’ unlikely to be converted

Irish rugby put its best foot forward this week as it made the case for Ireland to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup, writes Declan Jordan.

The bid made some bold claims for the economic impact of hosting this tournament. There will be 445,000 visitors attending the tournament; their direct spend will be €800m. That amounts to just under €1,800 per visitor. Note that this is an average amount. Is this realistic?

The bid claims that the tournament will generate €1.5bn for the Irish economy. These are impressive numbers and it would be interesting to see the assumptions on which they are based, especially since Irish citizens have underwritten this bid.