World Cup bid a four-horse race
France, Ireland, Italy and South Africa have been confirmed as the four nations who will bid for the right to stage the 2023 World Cup.
The quartet all submitted formal expressions of interest before last month's deadline.
A decision on which country will stage the 2023 World Cup will be made in May 2017 after a tender deadline in June next year.
South Africa staged the World Cup in 1995, when the Springboks won the tournament on home soil, while France played host to the 2007 edition.
However, neither Ireland nor Italy, two of Europe's elite Six Nations along with France, have been the main hosts of a World Cup.
"The candidate hosts now have a year to benefit from detailed knowledge-sharing and preparation, including digesting the detailed tender requirements and observing World Cup 2015 hosting, before the confirmation to tender deadline of June 2016," said World Cup tournament director Alan Gilpin in a statement.
"The announcement of the World Cup 2023 host in May 2017 will also provide the successful union with six years to prepare for the delivery of the event and maximise the benefits of observing the delivery of Japan 2019, the first World Cup to be hosted in Asia."
World Rugby chairman Bernard Lapasset added: "World Cup is our flagship event, and must continue to inspire, to reach out and attract new participants and audiences while delivering the financial platform for rugby to continue its record growth.
"Hosting should be a true partnership and incentivise and excite host countries, and we are currently undertaking an extensive review of the hosting model to strengthen the partnership between host and owner and further the benefits for all as we enter an exciting new era for our sport," the Frenchman said.
South Africa, the only Southern Hemisphere nation left in the 2023 race, wasted little time in declaring its enthusiasm to stage the showpiece tournament again, with the 1995 World Cup, where late former president Nelson Mandela walked out for a pre-match presentation ahead of the final wearing a Springbok shirt, providing what has been widely considered to be one of the iconic images of the country's post-apartheid era.
"Last week the 1995 Springbok World Cup squad regathered to celebrate their momentous victory 20 years ago," said South African Rugby Union Chief Executive Jurie Roux in a statement.
"We were reminded what a profound effect the tournament had on this country and the enthusiasm with which this country opened its arms to rugby.
"That hunger has been sharpened over the years with a whole generation having grown up envying the experience of their parents.
"The South African Rugby Union would very much like to give them the opportunity to share our passion for rugby with the rest of the world, 28 years on from that famous day."
SARU said that World Rugby had forecast staging the 2023 tournament would boost the hosting nation's economy by as much as US$2.6-billion (ZAR31-billion).
It added this far outweighed the expense of staging the tournament, which it said from 2003 to 2015 had cost the host nation between US$45 million and US$155 million (ZAR552-million to ZAR1.9 billion).
The 2015 World Cup in England gets underway when hosts England face Fiji at Twickenham on September 18.
