A thread to log preparations for the greatest show in Irish sporting history.
There were 13 stadia used for the 2015 showpiece. What stadia will we be promoting?
The Aviva, obviously
Ravenhill
Thomond Park,
Croke Park.
So with the main rugby stadia accounted for, where will the other 9 come from.
The new Pairc Ui Chaoimh
The new Casement Park/Maze Stadium
Semple Stadium
Nowlan Park
Pearse Stadium
St Tiarnachs Park
Tallaght Stadium
A revamped Dalymount?
And maybe we’d throw Murrayfield a bone to make up the quorum.
Fitzgerald stadium would have to be in the shake up for some of the smaller ones, Killarney would have the hotel capacity that Thurles for example wouldn’t.
The only places that could realistically host matches, when you take into account accommodation transport etc. are
Dublin x 2
Cork x 1
Limerick x 1
Galway x 1
Belfast x 1
Kilkenny x 1
Killarney x 1
You couldn’t really use more than two stadiums in Dublin. What would be the point anyway?
Somewhere like Thurles could get away with smaller ones with the train links to Dublin, Limerick and Cork.
You could fix the brandywell up a bit maybe but other than that you are limited.
Looking at the 2007 and 2011 and 2019 bids I see that 12 stadia will do, so we can drop Dalyer. Hayes Hotel might have to build a bit of an oul extension though.
15 Larmour
14 ?
13 Ringrose
12 Henshaw
11 Stockdale
10 Carbery
9 Murray? Will be 34, perhaps just about young enough for another crack as a veteran, maybe as a squad player
8 ?
7 Leavy
6 ?
5 Henderson
4 Ryan
3 Furlong
2 ?
1 Porter?
I won’t be thinking about 2023 for a long time. There’s the important business of the Championship at the start of February and the big build up to the British Lions tour of South Africa in 2021.
He will definitely prove to be a good purchase by the IRFU. Bundee will still be there as well, his absence yesterday and against Japan highlighted how essential it is to have some southern hemisphere game intelligence in the Irish mix.
Will be interesting to see if the IRFU consider changing their policy on players based abroad, it turns out that lads who go from schools rugby to their local provincial set-up and are still living with their parents in their mid 20s lack a bit of resilience when the real pressure comes on, who could have guessed that?!
