The final decision on where the Rugby World Cup should end up in 2023 was made on Wednesday, as World Rugby announced that France would be home to the tournament.
Ireland's bid ranked bottom in technical report, and was knocked out int he first round of the voting after getting just eight votes, in comparison to South Africa's 13 and France's tally of 18.
With no country reaching the 20 vote majority required, Ireland were eliminated and the second round saw the French reach a tally of 24 to claim the tournament.
France's win has been greeted as a shock result, given that they were not recommended by the technical report.
Congratulations to France who have been awarded Rugby World Cup 2023 following World Rugby Council's vote #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/8enJhanPmW
— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) November 15, 2017
Speaking after the announcement, World Rugby chairman, Bill Beaumont said: “We were fortunate to have three great bids. Two of the candidates will be extremely disappointed obviously. I am delighted for France. It’s going to be a really exciting tournament.”
