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Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross T.D. and Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin T.D. today congratulated the winning hosts of the Rugby World Cup 2023, France and thanked all the parties who produced a World Class Bid from Ireland.

Minister Ross said; “I know that the country would like to join me today in congratulating France on winning the bid to host the Rugby World Cup in 2023. Though we were not successful this time, it is important to highlight the fact that our bid was acknowledged by the assessors to be world class and that we would be excellent hosts. We are, of course, disappointed that we have not been afforded the opportunity this time around to prove what excellent hosts we would be, but I know we can take consolation in the fact that we did everything possible, including putting legislation through the Dáil, to make sure that our bid was more than capable of succeeding. Sadly, the day is not ours, however I predict that there will be a lot of Irish people taking holidays in France in 2023.”

Minister Griffin added; “It’s a disappointing outcome but it’s very heartening to know that we provided a world class bid and that we can do so again when required. I would like to thank Dick Spring and Brian O'Driscoll along with the team at the IRFU. I would also like to thank the Government of Northern Ireland, along with our own dedicated Sports Department, who all worked so fantastically hard together on this project.”