France have won the hosting rights to the 2023 World Cup, somehow managing to persuade a majority of voting members to go against the preferred bidder, South Africa.

A second round of voting was required after votes were initially split between South Africa, Ireland and France with the latter emerging successful in the second round.

The outcome will be considered not only a shock, but a major embarrassment to World Rugby who were hopeful that by having all three bids independently assessed, the vote would have been a straightforward case of rubber stamping the preferred option.

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The members weren't bound to vote in accordance with the recommendation but all had agreed to the new process having expressed concerns that the horse trading associated with previous World Cup hosting bids had to stop.

Both France and Ireland, though, have been vocal in their displeasure with the independent assessment which placed them well behind South Africa.

The French in particular rubbished the methodology and it is believed they, and Ireland, have been lobbying hard behind the scenes, for the last two weeks trying to curry favour with voting members.

World Rugby chairman, Bill Beaumont, said: "Congratulations to France on being elected Rugby World Cup 2023 host. They presented a very strong and comprehensive bid, which clearly resonated with the council today.

READ MORE: South Africa livid with RWC decision

"We had three outstanding host candidates, who raised the bar and overwhelmingly demonstrated that they were all capable of hosting an exceptional Rugby World Cup. There was very little to choose between the candidates and this was reflected in the independently-audited evaluation report.

"I would like to pay tribute to Ireland and South Africa for their dedication throughout a rigorous, and transparent process and hope that they will bid again. We now look forward to working in partnership with France to deliver what I am sure will be a very successful Rugby World Cup in 2023."

Former Springboks were devastated by the council's decision, which went against an evaluation report that backed them to host.

Ex-playmaker Joel Stransky, who played in the Springboks' 15-12 win over the All Blacks in the 1995 final, labelled World Rugby an old boys' club.

"One has to ask the question, why has the vote gone against the recommendation when most of the unions said they would vote with the recommendation?" Stransky told South African media.

"It's bitterly disappointing and quite surprising.

"You can only imagine the lobbying that has gone on behind the scenes and the one thing that it does fix in my mind is that it is an old boys' club still making decisions at World Rugby."

World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont defended the council's decision, saying it wasn't a repudiation of the independent audit.

Members were not bound to vote in accordance with the final evaluation, which had been rubbished by both France and Ireland.

"We had three outstanding host candidates, who raised the bar and overwhelmingly demonstrated that they were all capable of hosting an exceptional Rugby World Cup," Beaumont said.

Japan will host the next World Cup in 2019.