ST James' Park is to be used as one of the venues for the Rugby World Cup when it returns to England in 2015, it has been announced.

The Newcastle venue, which has a capacity of just over 52,000 will host pool matches during the tournament.

The International Rugby Board announced today that England will host the 2015 tournament.

The 26-man IRB council, meeting in Dublin today, voted to ratify a recommendation from the World Cup board that confirmed England as 2015 hosts with Japan to stage the tournament in 2019.

The Rugby Football Union beat competition from South Africa and Italy after submitting a commercial package worth an estimated £300m to the global game.

The 2015 World Cup will run from September 4 to October 17, when the final will be played at Twickenham.

Matches will be staged in 10 cities and 12 stadia across the country including Wembley, Old Trafford, the Emirates Stadium, Anfield and the Millennium Stadium, which is the only venue being used outside England.

The last time England hosted the tournament was in 1991, when Will Carling's team were beaten in the final by Australia.

Hosting the 2015 Rugby World Cup is estimated by Deloittes to be worth £2.1bn to the British economy.

The tournament forms a central plank of Britains so-called decade of sport, which also includes the 2012 Olympics, the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, the 2014 Commonwealth Games and potentially the 2018 FIFA World Cup.