The 2023 Rugby World Cup will take place in either Ireland, France or South Africa after the Italian Rugby Union (FIR) removed their hosting bid today.
The decision was taken by the FIR and the Promoting Committee following consultation with the Italian Government and the Italian Olympic Committee.
The move to pull out comes a week after new Rome mayor Virginia Raggi scotched the city's candidacy for the 2024 Olympic Games, saying that previous host cities such as London had been left with massive cost overruns and huge debts.
"Our candidature has always been strictly connected to the Olympic Games bid for Rome 2024 and, as agreed with the Goverment and the Olympic Committee, we are unable to provide necessary commitments for us to move forward," said FIR President Alfredo Gavazzi said.
"We remain convinced of the strenght of our bid and are well aware of the benefits that hosting the Rugby World Cup would have brought to Italy. We're conscious to lose a fantastic chance to promote our values and our sport in our country, but we must sadly accept that today we can no longer move forward with our bid."
