Australia and England both quickly revealed they had voted for Japan – but at least four of the leading nations are understood to have sided with New Zealand.

Japan’s bid chief, former prime minister Yoshiro Mori, accused the established unions of protecting their monopoly on hosting the World Cup and declared: “The ideal of rugby has disappeared with this decision. Only the interests of the bigger unions remain.

“The established nations keep passing the ball around their friends. World rugby has lost a big opportunity because of this decision.”

The IRB today issued a detailed response, highlighting the work being done to develop rugby around the world and insisting the sport’s global future is not dependent on which union is selected to host a World Cup.

The IRB statement read: “Since the announcement of the host union for Rugby World Cup 2011 there has been a lot said and written about the future growth and development of rugby worldwide.

“The IRB would like to make it very clear that there is in place a fully-funded strategic plan for the development of the game. The IRB is totally committed to making rugby a truly global sport.

“It must be remembered that there is much more to the successful development of rugby worldwide than the awarding of a tournament to a single host nation.

“It is what happens during the rest of the four-year cycle and beyond that really grows the game.

“Investment in infrastructure, high performance initiatives, development programmes and tournament structures worldwide on a consistent basis and over a long period are the keys to success.

“The IRB is working hard to put the initiatives and programmes in place to drive and manage this development.”