England must wait for 2007 World Cup choice

The directors of the Rugby World Cup have shelved plans to name the hosts of the 2007 tournament next month following presentations from the two single-venue bidders, England and France, in Dublin yesterday. A decision will now be made in April, once the rival unions have provided more detailed information in consultation with a management team set up by the International Rugby Board.

RWC was badly stung by the bitter and embarrassingly public political and commercial in-fighting that resulted in the New Zealand union being stripped of its sub-host status for next year's tournament and a decision to play the whole thing in Australia. "We have made it clear that all negotiations, terms and conditions relating to the Host Union Agreement should be concluded and that the agreement should be signed by the bidding unions before a recommendation is made to the IRB council," a World Cup spokesman said, referring to New Zealand's last-minute attempt to re-negotiate its side of the 2003 deal.

Details of the English bid will be announced at Twickenham on Monday, but one of the Rugby Football Union's more innovative ideas – the introduction of a two-tier mechanism to minimise the number of mis-matches – may not form part of the final tender. "These proposals materially alter the entire structure of the World Cup and will be considered by the IRB next month," the spokesman said.