Australia has been unveiled as one of six nations which has confirmed their intention to bid for the 2021 Women's Rugby World Cup.
World Rugby revealed Australia, New Zealand, England, France, Portugal, and Wales as the nations all set to bid for the tournament on Wednesday, noting that bidding has attracted a record level of interest.
The record level of interest no doubt has plenty to do with the success of the 2017 tournament in Ireland, which was the best attended and most viewed Women's World Cup ever.
There were also unprecedented levels of social media use, with 45 million video views recorded and 63,000 uses of the #WRWC2017 hashtag.
More than 3.2 million people tuned in to watch France's match with England during the tournament as well, an indication of the new found reach in women's rugby.
"We are delighted with the record level of Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021 hosting interest from unions, which reflects the significant global excitement and momentum behind the women’s game," World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont said.
"Ireland 2017 was a magnificent tournament by any Rugby World Cup standards and I am sure that all six unions will be determined to raise the bar again as we look forward to a tournament that features a new format and is a proven major sporting and social driver."
All six nations have now been issued with bid documents and have until August 10 to submit their responses.
The host will be selected in Dublin on November 14.
