Australia on Thursday officially launched its bid to host the 2027 Rugby World Cup, with Rugby Australia (RA) chairman Hamish McLennan saying the event was "an exciting day for all Australians".

The campaign was launched at the Museum of Contemporary Art on Sydney Harbour and attended by some of the country's eminent names in the sport, including two-time World Cup winners John Eales and Phil Kearns.

"Hosting Rugby World Cup 2027 is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Australia, which would drive substantial economic outcomes for our country, while also providing a lasting legacy for rugby in this region," McLennan said.

Australia's campaign expects more than two million attendees, including more than 200,000 international visitors, for 48 matches held across eight to 10 venues over the course of seven weeks.

McLennan noted that securing rights to host the event will go a long way in cementing Australia's reputation as a prominent host of global sporting events in the next 10 years.

"It would also allow us to support the Australian government's ambitions around major events in what is shaping up to be a green and gold decade for the nation – from the FIBA Women's World Cup in 2022, ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2022, FIFA Women's World Cup in 2023, the British and Irish Lions Tour in 2025, Netball World Cup in 2027, and the exciting potential of an Olympic Games in Queensland in 2032."

Eales who won the World Cup in 1991 and then eight years later as captain, backed Australia to do a "great job" in hosting the World Cup as it had done with other large international events.

"It'd be huge to get the tournament here in 2027. Not only do you have the wonderful eight-week window of the tournament itself but you have this great lead-in period, and then you have the halo effect after the World Cup," Eales said.

Australia co-hosted the inaugural Rugby World Cup with Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand in 1987 and then went on to host the event on its own in 2003.

Australia is perceived to be in a strong position to secure the hosting rights as Argentina withdrew its bid leaving Russia as the only other country in the race.

RA is currently in a dialogue phase with World Rugby and will move into a candidate phase from next month, when they will put together their detailed bid proposal. An evaluation phase is expected to begin in February next year.

World Rugby is expected to announce the tournament's host in May next year.

(With input from agencies)