The Rugby Football League have received 25 bids from local authorities to act as hosts for the 2013 World Cup.
Limerick and Bristol are among the applicants to have met the deadline earlier this month, although it is thought the majority of the bidders are from the game's traditional heartland.
The League say the 25 bids comprise 30 stadia, 47 team-training sites and 87 training camps, all of which will be assessed before making an announcement on the venues at the end of this year.
Sally Bolton, the RFL's director of projects and planning, said: 'It has been a fantastic and inspiring few months and we have been encouraged and impressed with the quality, detail and diverse nature of the proposed partnerships we have seen.
'We now have some very tough decisions to make.'
