Defiant.

Brian O’Driscoll reckons the fight to win the right to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup is far from over.

While Ireland are no doubt up against it, with World Rugby recommending South Africa and New Zealand recently stating they would be backing their SANZAAR partners, O’Driscoll says they will continue to work hard up until the vote on November 15th.

Speaking on Off The Ball, the former Ireland captain says the fight isn’t over yet.

“The fight isn’t given up yet. Yes, we’re very much on the back-burner at the moment with regards to being three of three and we haven’t been helped today with New Zealand saying that they’re going to vote along with World Rugby’s recommendations and undoubtedly we’re up against it,” he said.

“But why would you pack in two years’ worth of work and not continue going hard for another two weeks?”

O’Driscoll says Ireland are not that far behind in their bid and that hosting a World Cup is still viable.

“We’ve fallen down in a few areas. We’re not a million miles behind,” he said.

“As Kevin Potts, who’s been the lead on this mentioned, we’re still a viable option. It wasn’t a case that we were completely discredited as a non-viable option, which is something and we should take some satisfaction that we’ve delivered a good bid where we’re still in a place where we can still host a good World Cup.”