The Irish Rugby Football Union have revealed that they have submitted a bid to host the Women's Rugby World Cup in August 2017.
It's the IRFU's intention to stage the tournament pool stages at University College Dublin, before moving to Belfast for semi-finals and finals at Queens University Sport and the newly developed Kingspan Stadium.
"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 at the announcment of the bid.
"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.”
IRFU Women's Rugby Ambassador Fiona Coghlan added: "The 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.
"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 business and the Irish media will all come together to deliver a tournament to remember.”
Shane Logan, CEO of Ulster Rugby, said: "Ulster Rugby is delighted that our newly developed Kingspan Stadium has been selected to hold the semi-finals and finals of the Women's Rugby World Cup should the bid to host the tournament be successful."
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