Ireland camp insist World Cup dream can be saved

Ireland’s 2023 World Cup bid committee has come out punching in support of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s assertion that their challenge to host the tournament is still very much alive.

South Africa on Tuesday won the recommendation from World Rugby’s board that it should host the 2023 event, having outscored rival bids from Ireland and France in an exhaustive technical evaluation.

That endorsement, which puts the South Africans in pole position to win the deciding vote by World Rugby’s council on November 15, was followed by a statement from SA Rugby’s chief executive Jurie Roux that expressed the hope Ireland and France should step aside before the secret ballot 12 days from now.