2003 Rugby World Cup – European qualification

There were a number of positions open to European nations to qualify for the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia. Ireland, Romania, Georgia and Italy, joining a number of other nations that automatically qualified.

Contents

Round 1 – 2000-2001

Three Pool Winners and top Runner-Up advanced to Round 2.

Pool A

Winner (Sweden) and Runner-Up (Latvia) advanced to Round 2.

Final Standings
Country GP W D L +/- Pts
 Sweden 5 5 0 0 +208 15
 Latvia 5 4 0 1 +79 13
 Austria 5 3 0 2 +78 11
 Israel 5 2 0 3 +51 9
 Luxembourg 5 1 0 4 -222 7
 Norway 5 0 0 5 -194 5
Match Schedule
Date Match Venue Result
23-Sep-2000 Norway - Luxembourg Stavanger, Norway 9-41
21-Oct-2000 Austria - Sweden Vienna, Austria 10-42
28-Oct-2000 Latvia - Luxembourg Riga, Latvia 24-19
28-Oct-2000 Sweden - Norway Korsangens, Sweden 44-3
11-Nov-2000 Latvia - Austria Riga, Latvia 38-12
3-Mar-2001 Luxembourg - Israel Luxembourg 3-62
17-Mar-2001 Israel - Latvia Israel 3-21
5-May-2001 Israel - Norway Israel 43-3
5-May-2001 Luxembourg - Sweden Cessange, Luxembourg 3-116
12-May-2001 Austria - Luxembourg Vienna, Austria 77-0
19-May-2001 Latvia - Norway Riga, Latvia 37-0
19-May-2001 Sweden - Israel Växjö, Sweden 35-20
2-Jun-2001 Austria - Israel Vienna, Austria 21-6
9-Jun-2001 Norway - Austria Borrebanen, Norway 7-51
9-Jun-2001 Sweden - Latvia Korsangens, Sweden 17-10

Pool B

Winner (Switzerland) advanced to Round 2.

Final Standings
Country GP W D L +/- Pts
 Switzerland 5 4 0 1 +166 13
 Yugoslavia 5 3 0 2 +45 11
 Andorra 5 3 0 2 +43 11
 Hungary 5 2 0 3 -9 9
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 5 2 0 3 -58 9
 Bulgaria 5 1 0 4 -187 7
Match Schedule
Date Match Venue Result
30-Sep-2000 Bosnia and Herzegovina - Hungary Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina 13-12
07-Oct-2000 Switzerland - Bosnia and Herzegovina Geneva, Switzerland 43-6
14-Oct-2000 Bulgaria - Switzerland Pernik, Bulgaria 9-90
14-Oct-2000 Andorra - Yugoslavia Andorra la Vella, Andorra 12-9
28-Oct-2000 Hungary - Andorra Százhalombatta, Hungary 27-21
5-Nov-2000 Yugoslavia - Bulgaria Dimitrovgrad, Yugoslavia 46-6
31-Mar-2001 Yugoslavia - Hungary Dimitrovgrad, Yugoslavia 25-10
05-May-2001 Switzerland - Andorra Lausanne, Switzerland 38-25
05-May-2001 Bulgaria - Bosnia and Herzegovina  ? 30-8
12-May-2001 Andorra - Bulgaria Andorra la Vella, Andorra 59-10
12-May-2001 Switzerland - Hungary Basel, Switzerland 61-23
12-May-2001 Bosnia and Herzegovina - Yugoslavia  ? 23-13
25-May-2001 Yugoslavia - Switzerland Gornji, Yugoslavia 13-10
25-May-2001 Andorra - Bosnia and Herzegovina Andorra la Vella, Andorra 23-13
25-May-2001 Hungary - Bulgaria  ? 46-7

Pool C

Winner (Belgium) advanced to Round 2.

Final Standings
Country GP W D L +/- Pts
 Belgium 5 5 0 0 +71 15
 Slovenia 5 3 1 1 +46 12
 Moldova 5 3 0 2 +25 11
 Lithuania 5 2 1 2 +38 10
 Monaco 5 1 0 4 -30 7
 Malta 5 0 0 5 -150 5
Match Schedule
Date Match Venue Result
28-Oct-2000 Monaco - Moldova Menton, France 15-17
28-Oct-2000 Belgium - Slovenia Heysel, Belgium 24-10
18-Nov-2000 Slovenia - Lithuania Ljubljana, Slovenia 19-19
18-Nov-2000 Moldova – Malta Bender, Moldova 58-8
25-Nov-2000 Malta - Belgium Three Cities, Malta 0-26
2-Dec-2000 Monaco - Slovenia Menton, France 8-13
20-Jan-2001 Malta - Monaco Three Cities, Malta 3-9
3-Mar-2001 Monaco – Belgium Saint-Laurent-du-Var, France 12-18
7-Apr-2001 Belgium – Moldova Brussels, Belgium 26-10
21-Apr -2001 Malta – Lithuania Three Cities, Malta 11-39
28-Apr -2001 Slovenia - Moldova Ljubljana, Slovenia 30-15
5-May-2001 Belgium - Lithuania Laakdal, Belgium 29-20
12-May-2001 Slovenia - Malta Ljubljana, Slovenia 45-5
12-May-2001 Lithuania - Monaco Vilnius, Lithuania 33-10
2-Jun-2001 Moldova – Lithuania Chişinău, Moldova 20-16

Round 2 – 2001-2002

Pool Winners advanced to Round 3.

Pool A

Winner (Poland)advanced to Round 3.

Final Standings
Country GP W D L +/- Pts
 Poland 4 4 0 0 +69 12
 Germany 4 2 0 2 +24 8
 Sweden 4 2 0 2 +23 8
 Denmark 4 2 0 2 +19 8
 Latvia 4 0 0 4 -135 4
Match Schedule
Date Match Venue Result
22-Sep-2001 Latvia - Poland Riga, Latvia 18-60
29-Sep -2001 Poland – Sweden Gdańsk, Poland 18-6
7-Oct-2001 Sweden - Latvia Trelleborg, Sweden 37-12
20-Oct -2001 Sweden – Germany Malmö, Sweden 32-10
27-Oct-2001 Denmark - Sweden Frederiksberg, Denmark 33-21
3-Nov -2001 Denmark – Poland Copenhagen, Denmark 19-26
10-Nov-2001 Germany – Denmark Heidelberg, Germany 34-24
24-Nov-2001 Germany – Latvia Hanover, Germany 44-0
6-April-2002 Poland – Germany Gdynia, Poland 20-12
6-April -2002 Latvia – Denmark Riga, Latvia 8-32

Pool B

Winner (Czech Republic) advanced to Round 3.

Final Standings
Country GP W D L +/- Pts
 Czech Republic 4 4 0 0 +95 12
 Ukraine 4 3 0 1 +46 10
 Croatia 4 2 0 2 -14 8
 Switzerland 4 1 0 3 -40 6
 Belgium 4 0 0 4 -87 4
Match Schedule
Date Match Venue Result
22-Sep-2001 Czech Republic - Belgium Prague, Czech Republic 46-3
6-Oct-2001 Switzerland – Czech Republic Lausanne, Switzerland 6-32
13-Oct -2001 Croatia - Czech Republic Makarska, Croatia 5-13
13-Oct -2001 Ukraine – Belgium Kiev, Ukraine 21-10
20-Oct -2001 Ukraine - Croatia Kiev, Ukraine 41-7
27-Oct -2001 Belgium – Switzerland Brussels, Belgium 15-22
3-Nov-2001 Czech Republic – Ukraine Prague, Czech Republic 26-8
10-Nov -2001 Croatia – Switzerland Makarska, Croatia 18-16
24-Nov -2001 Belgium – Croatia Brussels, Belgium 0-26
24-Nov -2001 Switzerland – Ukraine Hermance, Switzerland 11-30

Round 3 – May-June, 2002

Pool Winners advanced to Round 4.

Pool A

Winner (Spain) advanced to Round 4.

Final Standings
Country GP W D L +/- Pts
 Spain 2 1 0 1 +1 4
 Portugal 2 1 0 1 0 4
 Poland 2 1 0 1 -1 4
Match Schedule
Date Match Venue Result
04-May-2002 Poland - Spain Warsaw (Poland) 27-15
18-May-2002 Portugal - Poland Jamor (Portugal) 39-26
2-June-2002 Spain - Portugal Madrid (Spain) 34-21

Pool B

Winner (Russia) advanced to Round 4.

Final Standings
Country GP W D L +/- Pts
 Russia 2 2 0 0 +81 6
 Czech Republic 2 1 0 1 +23 4
 Netherlands 2 0 0 2 -104 2
Match Schedule
Date Match Venue Result
05-May-2002 Czech Republic - Russia Prague (Czech Republic) 18-37
21-May-2002 Netherlands - Czech Republic Amsterdam (Netherlands) 12-54
1-June-2002 Russia - Netherlands Monino (Russia) 65-3

Round 4 – September-October, 2002

Pool Winners and Runners-Up qualified to 2003 Rugby World Cup. 3rd-Place advanced to Round 5.

Pool A

Italy qualified as Europe 2 to Pool D, Romania as Europe 3 to Pool A. Spain advanced to Round 5.

Final Standings
Country GP W D L +/- Pts
 Italy 2 2 0 0 +55 6
 Romania 2 1 0 1 +53 4
 Spain 2 0 0 2 -108 2
Match Schedule
Date Match Venue Result
22-Sep-2002 Spain - Italy Valladolid (Spain) 3-50
28-Sep-2002 Italy - Romania Parma (Italy) 25-17
05-Oct-2002 Romania - Spain Iaşi (Romania) 67-6

Pool B

Ireland qualified as Europe 1 to Pool D, Georgia as Europe 4 to Pool C. Russia advanced to Round 5.

Final Standings
Country GP W D L +/- Pts
 Ireland 2 2 0 0 +81 6
 Georgia 2 1 0 1 -45 4
 Russia 2 0 0 2 -36 2
Match Schedule
Date Match Venue Result
21-Sep-2002 Russia - Ireland Krasnoyarsk (Russia) 3-35
28-Sep-2002 Ireland - Georgia Dublin (Ireland) 63-14
13-Oct-2002 Georgia - Russia Tblisi (Georgia) 17-13

Round 5 – October-November, 2002

Spain advanced to Repechage as Europe 5 to play Africa 2.

Match Schedule

Date Match Venue Result
27-October-2002  Spain - Russia Madrid, Spain 3-36
24-November-2002  Russia - Spain Krasnodar, Russia 22-38

Russia won 58-41 on aggregate. However, after it was determined they used ineligible South African players, they were ejected from the competition and Spain advanced to Repechage.[1]

References

  1. ^ Russia frozen out of World Cup over illegal South Africans
Overview
Statistics
Tournaments
Finals
Squads
Qualifying
Nations who have competed in the Rugby World Cup by tier
Tier 1 teams
Tier 2 teams
Tier 3 teams