England to host 2015 Rugby World Cup

England will host the 2015 Rugby World Cup, the International Rugby Board have announced.

The 26-man IRB council, meeting in Dublin today, voted to ratify a recommendation from the World Cup board that confirmed England as 2015 hosts with Japan to stage the tournament in 2019.

The Rugby Football Union beat competition from South Africa and Italy.

The 2015 World Cup will run from September 4 to October 17, when the final will be played at Twickenham.

Matches will be staged in 10 cities and 12 stadia across the country including Wembley, Old Trafford, the Emirates Stadium, Anfield and the Millennium Stadium, which is the only venue being used outside England.

The last time England hosted the tournament was in 1991, when Will Carling’s team were beaten in the final by Australia.

Since then, rugby union has turned professional and the World Cup has developed into the globe’s third biggest sporting event.

The tournament forms a central plank of Britain’s so-called “decade of sport”, which also includes the 2012 Olympics, the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, the 2014 Commonwealth Games and potentially the 2018 FIFA World Cup.