Thomond breaks new ground
Thomond Park was yesterday named as one of the 18 stadiums that will host games in the 2013 global showpiece.
It is the first time an Irish venue has been chosen for such a match. However tournament Director Nigel Wood last night gave a ringing endorsement to the decision to bring a tie to the Treaty City in two years time.
He said: “It is quite well known that the sport is particularly strong in France, but the progress it has made in Ireland over the last five years [is not as well publicised]. Limerick recently hosted an international against France and it went well — the enthusiasm for rugby league in that part of the world is overwhelming.”
And Irish Rugby League chiefs believe the decision will have massive benefits in the development of the game here.
Rugby League Ireland’s General Manager Gordon Matthews said: “We in Rugby League Ireland have found a huge and genuine interest in our games and this news is a massive boost to us. We feel we can tap into this interest and that there is a huge market out there. At our game against France in Thomond Park earlier in November we had 3,100 people in attendance. That is three times the crowd we had at an international the year before. And all of that was done on a shoestring budget. Imagine what we can do with a big budget around a Rugby World Cup.”
He revealed that many of those present for the French clash were union fans, first and foremost. “Most of the people there were from a union background, either as players or fans who would watch a bit of rugby league on television. But there is definitely a very knowledgeable public down there.”
Matthews and his team now hope to use the hype and publicity around the World Cup to their advantage.
“We would hope sit down with Shannon Development and plan school and underage activities around this match. Currently Rugby League Ireland has clubs in Leinster, Munster and Ulster with a playing population of about 600. We expect that to grow in the years ahead as the profile of the sport develops here around the Rugby World Cup.
“We will look at playing a few more games in Thomond Park and widen it out to the greater public.”
He added: “We are looking forward to creating a Championship One Club by 2015 (two tiers below Super League). The plan would be to have lads coming from our own domestic league, expats coming back and a few foreign players as well. But that is all to the future.”
Ireland are in Group A containing Australia, England and Fiji with the top three to qualify for the knockout phases.
“We knew our opponents ahead of this announcement but we are yet to discover when and where those matches will be played,’’ Matthews said. “You can take it that England and Australia will be favourites to win all their matches so it looks like it will come down to a shoot-out between ourselves and Fiji for that last spot.”
Holders New Zealand will face Papua New Guinea, Samoa and France in Group B. Scotland will face Tonga and Italy in Group C and Wales have been drawn against the Cook Islands and the USA in Group D.
A total of 34 bids, comprising 30 stadia, 47 team training sites and 87 team base camps, were submitted to the RFL. Each of the bidding hosts underwent a detailed inspection from a 2013 team to examine the various sites venue specifications, as well as evaluating the enthusiasm and commitment of each bidding host.
Upwards of half a million people are expected to watch the 28 matches live over a six-week period in the autumn of 2013 with a further 20 million viewers from 120 countries tuning in around the world.
The final will be held on 30 November 2013, with Old Trafford tipped as the likely venue.
WORLD CUP VENUES: Avignon, Bristol, Halifax, Huddersfield, Hull (KC Stadium and Craven Park), Leeds, Leigh, Limerick, Perpignan, Neath, Rochdale, Salford, St Helens, Warrington, Whitehaven, Wigan, Wrexham.
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