Video - 'Some level of embarrassment for World Rugby' - BOD

The decision to award Rugby World Cup 2023 to France was always going to leave a lot of noses out of joint, not least the Irish bid organisers and participants.

Ireland legend Brian O’Driscoll described the decision to give the tournament to France as a major ‘coup’ for the country.

However he also noted that there was ‘some level of embarrassment for World Rugby’ regarding the process leading up to the vote given that the controversial report favoured the South African bid, which was ultimately well beaten by the French bid in the final round of voting.

O’Driscoll welcomed England’s backing, but felt let down by the other two home nations.

“The feeling about Scotland is, they set their stall out early saying they were going to go with whoever was offering the most money.

“Then Wales, more recently, felt as if they had to sway with Gareth Davies [Welsh Rugby Union chairman], who sits on the Rugby World Cup board.

“Their decision was South Africa, so the likelihood to lose both of them is pretty disappointing.

“We got the support of England and we appreciate that, but England alone weren’t ever going to get us across the line.”

France received 24 votes to South Africa’s 15 in the final round of voting. In the first round, France received 18 votes to South Africa’s 13 and Ireland’s eight.

Brian O’Driscoll feels the 2023 World Cup bid process may become a guinea pig for an improved method of choosing host countries pic.twitter.com/1dhx66CQVQ

— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) November 15, 2017

World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said: “Congratulations to France on being elected Rugby World Cup 2023 host. They presented a very strong and comprehensive bid, which clearly resonated with the Council today.

“We had three outstanding host candidates, who raised the bar and overwhelmingly demonstrated that they were all capable of hosting an exceptional Rugby World Cup. There was very little to choose between the candidates and this was reflected in the independently-audited evaluation report.

“I would like to pay tribute to Ireland and South Africa for their dedication throughout a rigorous, and transparent process and hope that they will bid again. We now look forward to working in partnership with France to deliver what I am sure will be a very successful Rugby World Cup in 2023.”