A scrum in building form: Limerick hopes to cash in on rugby supremacy with new attraction

It rises over the centre of Limerick in a six-storey array of bricks and pillars and vaults that has been compared to a scrum in building form.

The International Rugby Experience, Ireland’s newest tourist attraction looms over its surroundings with a swagger that channels Ireland’s performances on the field. The €30m (£26m) complex boasts a design, scale and ambition to match the country’s status as a rugby superpower.

Instead of memorabilia and traditional museum fare, it uses audio and visual technology to tell the story of rugby and capture its sights, sounds and atmosphere. Lasers and interactive devices let visitors test their kicking, running and scrummaging.

The goal is to draw 100,000 visitors a year and create an Irish rugby destination in this provincial capital in south-western Ireland, 120 miles from the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

The building opened this month just two months after Ireland sealed their world No 1 status with a Six Nations championship grand slam, fuelling expectations for the World Cup in France in September.

“We didn’t plan it but the timing is great – you have the No 1 team in the world heading into the World Cup,” said the attraction’s chief executive, Barry Hannon. “We wanted to do something for the city and the sport. It’s not dusty boots and balls. We’re trying to capture stories from all over.”

Martin Johnson and Francois Pienaar, who respectively led England and South Africa to World Cup glory, joined other rugby legends for the official opening.

The architect, Níall McLaughlin, fused four derelict buildings into a tower of red bricks with high-vaulted ceilings, topped by a loggia with panoramic views, that is envisaged as a civic space for the next century and beyond. Rowan Moore, the