Philip Browne: Irish focus solely on 2023 bid

IRFU chief executive Philip Browne has refused to countenance whether the union would regroup and launch a fresh bid for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in the event that its bid to play host to the 2023 tournament fails to get the go-ahead later this year.

South Africa and France are the other nations seeking to win the right to welcome the global rugby fraternity in six years’ time and World Rugby’s Technical Review Group are currently in the process of conducting visits to all three countries ahead of the vote next November.

It was Ireland’s turn this week.