IRFU opposes England's solo bid to host 2007 World Cup

THE Irish Rugby Football Union will refuse to endorse England's plan to solely host the 2007 World Cup.

An Irish delegation will meet with the English in 10 days but lay their cards firmly on the table and demand a slice of the action.

Without income as one of the official hosts, Ireland stands to lose hundreds of thousands in missed revenue.

IRFU chief executive Philip Browne made it clear that financial considerations would be crucial when it came to voting for either England or France to act as main host of the 2007 competition.

"At this point we have not had a chance to examine in detail any of the proposals put forward by England," he said. "It would seem, however, they favour hosting the tournament on their own.

"Our view is that it makes absolute sense for the tournament to be spread around between the main countries when it is played in this part of the world.

"From a Rugby World Cup point of view, it doesn't make much sense to play an Irish/Argentina pool game at either the McAlpine Stadium in England or in some stadium in France.

"Neither would it be logical for Wales to have to play a pool game in some English ground when they could fill the Millennium Stadium."

If England succeed in persuading the organisers to give them sole rights for the competition, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and France will lose out significantly. Profits from gate receipts are divided equally among the host.

From Ireland's perspective, a lot of money has already been invested to participate in the forthcoming World Cup in Australia and it won't receive a cent in compensation.

There is a grant-aided programme for participants to kit themselves out but so far the IRFU has had to spend 300,000 to travel to Siberia for a qualifying match with Russia.

The union will have to shell out more money on a warm-up tour to Australia, Samoa and Tonga next year, and will lose out on vital revenue because there will be no autumn internationals next season.

French rugby boss Bernard Lapasset has already criticised the English proposals and accused the RFU of being "elitist". The Irish have not gone that far, as Browne explained: "We will have to examine the proposals in detail before commenting further. But on the face of it our views would be similar to the French in that we don't believe one country should have all the rights."

Lapasset's comments won't go astray when the French bid is discussed by the Celtic Nations. The French are clearly in support of the concept of playing pool matches in different countries to maximise returns for Ireland, Wales and Scotland as well as France.

In those circumstances, England's elitist view is most unlikely to prevail.