Ireland's Rugby World Cup bid was the subject of a heated debate in the Seanad on Thursday, with Senator Terry Leyden claiming that the organising committee "made a bags of it". 

Sen. Leyden stated that his party would not have lost the Scottish or Welsh votes, adding: "What kind of amateurs do we send out anymore? Sure, they wouldn't negotiate a p*** up in a brewery."

Hitting back, Senator Neale Richmond was quick to ask exactly what grounds Leyden was criticising the bid on, given that he hadn't contributed much to it, and had previously said that women shouldn't play rugby. 

. @fiannafailparty Senator @TerryLeyden labels Irish #rugbyworldcup2023 bid team ‘Amateurs’....’who couldn’t organise a piss up in a brewery’..they ‘made a bags of it’ @rtenews pic.twitter.com/0Y7q6ccKEH

— Conor McMorrow (@ConorMcMorrow) November 16, 2017

In October, Leyden issued an apology on his official website after receiving widespread criticism over stating that the game was "very rough" and that "I am not a great advocate of women’s rugby, I think there are certain games more suited to women, and I do not mean to be discriminatory."

Richmond took to Twitter after the exchange to double down on his comments, stating that he had "no time for people having a go who know nothing about the topic or the process. Same man who thinks women shouldn't play rugby!"