The International Rugby Board (IRB) has announced that it will allocate the World Cups of 2015 and 2019 at the same time next summer.

An IRB statement said that the tender process to host the events will open this month and that the announcement of the successful host nations will be made in July, 2009.

"The success of the rugby World Cup since its inception in 1987 has been remarkable," IRB chief Bernard Lapasset said.

"In those 20 years it has grown into one of the top five sporting events in the world.

"Rugby World Cup 2007 (in France) enjoyed a cumulative global TV audience of 4 billion while 2.2 million fans attended matches."

The 2011 World Cup has already been allocated to New Zealand.

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