England to host Rugby World Cup in 2015

England has won the right to host the 2015 World Cup, 21 years after its last staging of the event in 1991 and 12 years after they won the title in Australia. Twickenham fought of challenges from current holders South Africa, Italy and Japan to host the competition.

The IRB took the decision at a meeting in Dublin, where Japan was awarded the 2019 World Cup.

The victorious RFU says England will lay on the biggest World Cup ever. The event will run from September 4 to October 17 and 3million people are expected to watch games live.

The venues, including football grounds, where games will be held are Twickenham, Wembley and the Emirates Stadium in London, Old Trafford in Manchester, Newcastle's St James' Park, Anfield in Liverpool, Elland Road in Leeds, the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, Welford Road in Leicester, Kingsholm in Gloucester and St Mary's Stadium in Southampton.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:

Paul Rees, the Guardian: "England overcame South Africa and Italy to be granted host status, with Japan given the 2019 tournament. The Rugby Football Union prevailed largely because of the figures it dangled in front of delegates: an estimated sale of 2.8m tickets yielding revenue of £195m – a £102m profit – before VAT, an average of 57,000 spectators every match and a surplus for Rugby World Cup Ltd of an estimated £200m. The sums are based on the grounds which would stage matches, including Twickenham, Wembley, Old Trafford, Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, the Emirates and St James' Park."

Peter Jackson, Daily Mail: "[The RFU's] success adds to an unprecedented series of global events acclaimed by Prime Minister Gordon Brown as 'a golden decade of UK sport'. If the FA emulate Twickenham's achievement, the world's three most watched championships will be centred on London in rapid succession - starting with the Olympics in 2012 and finishing six years later with the football World Cup. Not to be outdone, rugby league announced yesterday that their World Cup will be back on home soil in 2013."

David Hands, the Times: "It was an historic decision, on three fronts: it is the first time that England, the game’s home, has played sole host and means that the same country will stage, within five years, the women’s World Cup (2010), rugby league’s World Cup (2013) and that of rugby union. The vote for Japan takes the tournament away from rugby’s eight traditional super powers (the home unions, France, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia) for the first time and opens up the Asian market, which, in turn, will have a favourable impact on the campaign to restore rugby union to the Olympic Games."

Steve Wilson, Daily Telegraph: "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. Hosting the 2015 Rugby World Cup is estimated by Deloittes to be worth £2.1 billion to the British economy." ·