NZRL chairman Scott Carter, who also doubles as RLIF chairman, is driving New Zealand's part of the bid and a key feature is the fact they have secured letters of support from the Australian and New Zealand Governments.
"South Africa acknowledge they don't have official government support because they are grappling with recognition internally separate from the South African Rugby Union," Carter said. "They are very keen to use this opportunity to bid off the back of a successful football World Cup to be recognised as a national sports organisation in their own right but have some political hurdles to overcome."
The NZRL are keen to host more internationals, boosting their domestic objectives, but in the past haven't been able to contemplate hosting a major tournament.
New Zealand and Australia traditionally co-host the Four Nations - formerly Tri Nations - sharing the load in 1999, 2006 and 2010 and the two countries are also due to co-host next year's installment. This year's World Cup will involve 14 teams - the last had 10.
Some discussions have been had around the division of games, with New Zealand likely to host one pool as well as one or two quarter-finals and one semifinal.
Carter was asked by Sports Minister Murray McCully whether they wanted to submit a bid on their own but the NZRL preferred a co-host arrangement. "We would rather work with Australia."
