IRFU considering World Cup 2023 bid

The IRFU has revealed that it is currently considering making a bid which, if successful, would see Ireland host the 2023 World Cup.

It is believed that the IRFU have 12 months to devise a bid for Rugby’s premier tournament with significant Government backing a necessity in order to provide the finance needed to guarantee such an event.

IRFU chief executive Phillip Browne said that the events in New Zealand last summer rekindled a previous interest in bringing the World Cup to Ireland.

"It's something that we've looked at in the past and coming back from New Zealand and seeing what they were able to do there, we said let's have a look at it again.

"So that's all we're doing: having a think about it. It's a question ultimately of whether the Government wants to get involved in it or not.

"If they don't want to get involved in it then it doesn't happen."

Crucially, the Minister for Transport Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar is believed to support the bid and is expected to meet with the IRFU to assess the feasibility of the project.

2023 is the next available slot for hosting the World Cup with the 2019 tournament set to be held in Japan and the forthcoming 2015 competition to take place in England.

While Ireland hosted games during both the 1991 and 1999 World Cups it has never been the official host of the event.

Russia and the USA have been named as two other potential hosts for the 2023 tournament with both representing significant potential growth markets for the sport.