IRFU Announces Bid To Host The 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup

The IRFU has confirmed today that they have submitted a bid to host the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2017. According to reports, the IRFU have put forward a bid to host the tournament in Dublin and Belfast. It is planned that UCD will play host to the group stages of the competition, with the final stages to be held at Queen’s University Sport and Kingspan Stadium in Belfast. If the bid succeeds, it would be a massive boost for the sport in Ireland and would prove to be a huge success for local businesses. Ireland has already qualified for the World Cup which will kick off in August 2017. The team finished in fourth position at last year’s tournament in France, with a phenomenal victory over New Zealand in the pool stages. “Interest and participation in women’s rugby continues to grow and building on this momentum we believe Ireland can deliver the best Women’s Rugby World Cup to date,” said Philip Browne, IRFU chief executive. “We hope that the growing interest in women’s rugby in Ireland, world leading facilities at UCD, Queens University Sport, Kingspan Stadium and our internationally recognised reputation for being one of the world’s most welcoming nations will make an Irish bid the standout submission for the 2017 tournament.” Also speaking at the announcement was former captain, Fiona Coghlan. “This development and profile of women’s sport has been fantastic in recent years and it will be a great opportunity for Ireland to showcase sport and to get more women and girls to consider taking up a team sport,” she said. “Having captained Ireland at the recent Women’s Rugby World Cup in France, I hope that I can help Irish Rugby to develop a Rugby World Cup that tops everything that went before and I know that the Irish people, Irish businesses and the Irish media will all come together to deliver a tournament to remember." The news comes off the back of a determined win by Ireland against England in the Six Nations on Friday night in Ashbourne. It was the side’s second time ever to defeat England, who are current World Cup champions following their win in France last summer. The side will face Wales away in the next round of the Six Nations on Sunday, March 15^th at 12pm.