France are set to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
The decision was announced today in London after the World Rugby Council met to vote at the Kensington Royal Garden Hotel.
The vote is a secret ballot so we do not know as of yet how each nation voted. The announcement comes after weeks of tension with France leading the charge in rejecting World Rugby's initial technical review. President of the French Rugby Federation, Bernard Laporte, had accused World Rugby of "lies", "negligence" and "amateurism" in their report and it appears his subsequent lobbying has worked.
World Rugby had been anxious that the vote validates the review process in order to avoid the vigorous lobbying and underhand deals of the past. The fall-out from this announcement will take centre stage over the next few days.
With 39 votes cast, 20 votes were required to see France over the line. It took a second round for them to be confirmed.
The round one voting saw France land 18 votes, Ireland 8 and South Africa 13. Round two gave France 25 votes versus South Africa's 15.
