A record-breaking 10 countries have expressed an interest in hosting either the 2015 or 2019 World Cups.
All four home unions have put their names forward for the 2015 tournament, with Ireland, Scotland and Wales also being considered as hosts four years later.
The surprise bidders are Jamaica and Russia who have both asked to be considered as tournament holders in 11 years time. Russia missed out on qualification for the last World Cup in France after defeats to Portugal and Italy, while Jamaica have not yet come close to competing in the world’s premier competition.
"This is tremendous news for Rugby World Cup," said IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset.
"The fact that 10 member unions have signalled their intention to tender for the 2015 and 2019 tournaments reflects the growing global prestige of the Rugby World Cup.
"The IRB Council will announce the RWC 2015 and 2019 host unions in July 2009, six years prior to the first tournament and 10 years prior to the 2019 event.
"This timetable reflects the scale and nature of the preparatory work in delivering this world class tournament."
The full list of interested countries is as follows:
2015
Australia, England, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales
2019
Australia, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Russia, Scotland, South Africa and Wales.
