"Rival England" - Spain and Portugal launch shock joint bid to host the Rugby World Cup

It's worth noting that joint Rugby World Cups have been part of the sport's history. The inaugural World Cup took place in Australia and New Zealand, and we've witnessed joint tournaments in 1991, as well as multiple countries hosting matches in 1999. Scotland also hosted games during the 2007 World Cup in France.

Looking ahead, France have hosted the men's Rugby World Cup in 2023, while England will take the helm for the Women's Rugby World Cup in 2025.

Australia is set to host the men's tournament in 2027, followed by the women's event in 2029. In a groundbreaking move, World Rugby has selected the United States to host both the men's and women's tournaments in 2031 and 2033, respectively.

Now, let's delve into the four nations currently vying to host the Rugby World Cup in 2035 and 2037.

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The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has made an official announcement, formally putting forward Italy's candidacy to host Euro 2032, the prestigious European football championship.

As Italy vies for the opportunity to host Euro 2032, the support from the Italian Rugby Federation and the potential for stadium upgrades across the nation could also bolster their bid to host the Rugby World Cup in the future.

In the statement on the Italian union’s website they said: “The Italian Rugby Federation expresses its full support for the candidacy of the Italian Football Federation to host Euro2032 and wishes the best success to President (Gabriele) Gravina, the federal structure and all the stakeholders involved.

“The Italian rugby governing body intends to work in synergy with the FIGC and with all the stakeholders involved to ensure that the process of upgrading the stadiums identified in the dossier takes place taking into due consideration the needs of elite international rugby, an essential condition for be able to present, in the immediate future, an Italian candidacy for the 2035 (Men’s) and 2037 (Women’s) Rugby World Cup.”

Planet Rugby has reported that Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) chairman Kensuke Iwabuchi has also informed World Rugby that his country wants to host the Rugby World Cup as early as 2035.

The 2019 tournament was well-received by all the teams who visited Japan with facilities and infrastructure at a world-class level.

Iwabuchi ambitiously declared that he wants Japan to be the No 1 rugby union team in the world when they next host the Rugby World Cup.

“We’ve informed World Rugby that we want to do it then at the earliest (2035), and we will move forward looking at when the conditions allow us to actually host it,” he said.