2011 Rugby World Cup qualifying
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 2007 – 2010 |
| No. of nations | 79 |
← 2007 2015 → | |
2011 Rugby World Cup qualifying began at the 2007 tournament in France, where twelve teams (the first three in each of the four pools) earned a place in the finals of the tournament, this automatically qualified them for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.[1]
After much speculation, it was confirmed on 30 November 2007 that 20 teams would contest the next edition of the tournament.[2] The qualification system for the remaining eight places was region-based, with Europe and the Americas allocated two qualifying places, Africa, Asia and Oceania one place each, and the last place determined by a playoff.[3]
With 79 teams participating in regional qualifying competitions, and 12 teams qualifying automatically, 91 nations were involved in the process.
Qualified teams
[edit | edit source]- Africa
- File:Flag of Namibia.svg Namibia (Africa 1)
- File:Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa (automatic qualifier/champion)
- Americas
- File:Flag of Argentina.svg Argentina (automatic qualifier)
- File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada (Americas 1)
- File:Flag of the United States.svg United States (Americas 2)
- Asia
- File:Flag of Japan.svg Japan (Asia 1)
- Europe
- File:Flag of England.svg England (automatic qualifier)
- File:Flag of France.svg France (automatic qualifier)
- File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia (Europe 1)
- File:IRFU flag.svg Ireland (automatic qualifier)
- File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy (automatic qualifier)
- File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia (Europe 2)
- File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania (repechage)
- File:Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland (automatic qualifier)
- File:Flag of Wales (1959–present).svg Wales (automatic qualifier)
- Oceania
- File:Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia (automatic qualifier)
- File:Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand (automatic qualifier/host)
- File:Flag of Fiji.svg Fiji (automatic qualifier)
- File:Flag of Tonga.svg Tonga (automatic qualifier)
- File:Flag of Samoa.svg Samoa (Oceania 1)
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Regional qualifiers
[edit | edit source]Eight nations qualified from regional competitions: seven qualified directly through their region, and the eighth from a four-nation repechage play-off for the final spot.
| Region | Automatic qualifiers | Teams in qualifying process | Qualifying places | Qualifying teams | World Cup pools | Repechage places | Repechage teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | 1 | 14 | 1 | File:Flag of Namibia.svg Namibia | D | 1 | File:Flag of Tunisia.svg Tunisia |
| Americas | 1 | 18 | 2 | File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada File:Flag of the United States.svg United States | A C | 1 | File:Flag of Uruguay.svg Uruguay |
| Asia | 0 | 11 | 1 | File:Flag of Japan.svg Japan | A | 1 | File:Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Kazakhstan |
| Europe | 6 | 31 | 2 | File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia | B C | 1 | File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania |
| Oceania | 4 | 5 | 1 | File:Flag of Samoa.svg Samoa | D | 0 | none |
| TOTALS | 12 | 79 | 7 | 4 | (1 WC Place) |
Final place play-off
[edit | edit source]The twentieth place at the 2011 tournament was determined by a repechage play-off which involved the third-place teams from the American and European qualifying tournaments (Uruguay and Romania). On a home and away basis, Romania prevailed by winning 32–12 in Bucharest, preceded by a 21–21 draw in Montevideo. It competed in Pool B.
Both nations had won the repechage semi-finals. Those were conducted as single matches, with the European and African qualifiers drawn into one semi-final and the Asian and Americas qualifiers drawn into the other. Romania beat Tunisia 56–13 and Uruguay had the upper hand over Kazakhstan winning 44–7. Both matches were hosted by the team with the higher IRB World Ranking when the two teams to play became known.
Sources
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