2011 Rugby World Cup Qualification

Qualification - Rugby World Cup Following the 2007 Rugby World Cup there was speculation that the IRB might cut down on the number of teams participating in subsequent Rugby World Cups to limit the number of one-sided encounters.

However, following protests by the smaller national unions, the IRB decided to maintain the format used at the 2007 Rugby World Cup which saw 20 teams compete in 4 groups of 5 teams.

2011 Rugby World Cup Qualifying

12 teams qualified automatically for the 2011 Rugby World Cup by finishing in the top 3 of their respective pools during the 2007 Rugby World Cup. The automatic qualifiers include all of the top 10 ranked teams in the IRB rankings. The automatic qualifiers for the 2011 Rugby World Cup are:

Regional Qualifying Tournaments

The remaining 8 participants in the 2011 Rugby World Cup will be required to qualify for the event in a series of regional qualifying tournaments.

Africa: One African team will qualify for the 2011 Rugby World Cup by winning the 2009 Africa Cup. The runner-up in this tournament will qualify for a Rugby World Cup playoff.

Europe: Two European teams will qualify for the 2011 Rugby World Cup by finishing 1st and 2nd in the European Nations Cup First Division that will be played between 2008 and 2010. A tournament between the winners of the remaining European Nations Cup divisions will then be held to determine which team goes to the Rugby World Cup playoff.

Asia: The winner of the Asian Five Nations in 2010 will qualify automatically for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The second placed team will go into the Rugby World Cup playoff.

Americas: Two teams from the Americas (including North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean) will qualify for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in a series of regional playoff tournaments. One team from the Americas will also enter the Rugby World Cup playoff.

Oceania: One place at the 2011 Rugby World Cup will be awarded to the winner of the playoff between the 2009 Oceania Nations Cup Champions and Samoa.

The Rugby World Cup Playoff

The Rugby World Cup playoff is a tournament that will be played between four qualifying teams from Asia, the Americas, Africa and Europe. The winner of the playoff will become the 20th team to qualify for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.