World Cup decision delayed

The RFU hope Twickenham will host the 2007 final

England and France must wait until next April to discover who will win the right to host the 2007 Rugby World Cup (RWC).

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Fédération Française de Rugby (FFR) made their bid presentations to the RWC board on Friday.

The World Cup directors were then scheduled to recommend one of the bids to the International Rugby Board (IRB) Council on 14 November.

However, after the bid presentations, the directors announced that they need more detailed information from both bidders before they can make a decision.

2003 RWC draw details

"Following the presentations by the two candidates, the RWC directors asked for each federation to clarify certain points," the IRB said in a statement.

The most radical of the candidates' proposals was not discussed by the RWC board.

A central plank of England's bid is a two-tiered tournament aimed at avoiding the mismatches of previous World Cups.

Australia won the 1999 World Cup in Wales

The IRB statement said that the plan must be examined by November's council meeting because it would materially alter the entire structure of the competition.

An RFU spokeswoman said the union would not make any comment on its proposals until a press conference on Monday.

The FFR was not immediately available to comment on its bid.

The destination of the host status will be decided by 21 votes.

England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand have two votes apiece.

Canada, Argentina, Japan, Italy and the Amateur Rugby Federation (FIRA-AER) have one each.

World Cup tickets go on sale

However, the issue may be further complicated by the stance of Wales, who struck a deal with the English and French to secure their backing as Cup hosts in 1999.

The Welsh Rugby Union are demanding a reciprocal 20% of gate receipts from any English World Cup and the right to host a fifth of matches if France are successful.

But the FFR are understood not to have included any Welsh stadia in their bid document.