2007 Rugby World Cup – Europe qualification

2007 Rugby World Cup - European qualification was based around the European Nations Cup, and decided which European teams participated in the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France. The group stages counted towards both qualification and the European Nations Cup. Hosts France and other 2003 World Cup quarter finalists England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales qualified automatically.

Contents

Qualification process

There were three places available for European teams, and one place in the repechage. The teams were ranked according to their division in the European Nations Cup, taking into account the relegations and promotions at the end of the previous competition. Note that for the 2004/05 season Division 1 did not count towards World Cup qualification. The 2005/06 season decided which round (either 4 or 5) the teams entered. In the group rounds, there were three points awarded for a win, two for a draw, and one for a loss. There were no bonus points awarded.

Round 1

The eight teams from divisions 3B (apart from newly relegated from 3A Hungary) and 3C (apart from Azerbaijan and Armenia) played each other in four two-legged playoffs. The winners entered the next round.

Round 2

The four Round 1 winners, Hungary, and the fifteen teams from divisions 2A, 2B and 3A were drawn into four groups of five. They played each other once, with the best two teams qualifying for the next round. The third placed teams played in two two-legged playoffs to qualify for the next round.

Round 3

The four winners, four runners-up, and two play-off winners from Round 2 were drawn into two groups of five. The best team from each group played each other in a two legged playoff for a place in the next round.

Round 4

The bottom three teams from Division 1 2005/06 and the winner of the previous round played two two-legged playoffs to enter the next round.

Round 5

The winner of Round 4 Playoff 1, the third placed team from Division 1 2005/06 and Six Nations competitor Italy form Pool A. The winner of Round 4 Playoff 2 and the first and second placed teams from Division 1 2005/06 form Pool B. The top team from each pool qualified for the World Cup as Europe 1 and Europe 2. The second placed teams entered the next round.

Round 6

The two second placed teams from Round 5 played a two-legged playoff, with the winner qualifying for the World Cup as Europe 3. The loser entered the repechage as Europe 4.

Round 1

Andorra, Austria, Bulgaria and Lithuania qualified for round 2.

4 September 2004
 Andorra  76 - 3  Norway Andorra La Vella
Referee: André Watson
18 September 2004
 Norway  9 - 23  Andorra Bergen

Andorra won 99-12 on aggregate

The first match was refereed by Andre Watson. He was called by the International Board, because in this way the first match of qualification the new edition of Rugby World Cup could be refereed by the same judge as the last match (the final) of the Rugby World Cup 2003. Watson had announced his retirement from international rugby only three mounths before after a match between Australia and Pacific Islands.

25 September 2004
 Bosnia and Herzegovina  10 - 29  Austria Zenica
16 October 2004
 Austria  12 - 7  Bosnia and Herzegovina Vienna

Austria won 41-17 on aggregate

18 September 2004
 Finland  3 - 42  Bulgaria Helsinki
30 October 2004
 Bulgaria  50 - 3  Finland Sofia

Bulgaria won 92-6 on aggregate

16 October 2004
 Israel  0 - 53  Lithuania Raanana
23 October 2004
 Lithuania  60 - 7  Israel Vilnius

Lithuania won 113-7 on aggregate

Round 2

Pool A

Spain and Croatia qualified for Round 3. Andorra entered the playoffs.

Place Nation Games Points Table
points
played won drawn lost for against difference
1  Spain 4 3 1 0 201 55 +146 11
2  Croatia 4 3 1 0 115 54 +61 11
3  Andorra 4 2 0 2 88 75 +13 8
4  Slovenia 4 1 0 3 58 141 -83 6
5  Hungary 4 0 0 4 40 177 -137 4

Match Schedule

23 October 2004
 Hungary  16 - 29  Andorra Stardom
23 October 2004
 Croatia  27 - 6  Slovenia Split
6 November 2004
 Slovenia  41 - 0  Hungary Ljubljana
21 November 2004
 Croatia  18 - 7  Andorra Sisak
21 November 2004
 Spain  63 - 9  Hungary Madrid
13 February 2004
 Andorra  14 - 36  Spain Andorra La Vella
27 March 2005
 Slovenia  6 - 76  Spain Ljubljana
10 April 2005
 Spain  26 - 26  Croatia Sevilla
23 April 2005
 Hungary  15 - 44  Croatia Budapest
30 April 2005
 Andorra  38 - 5  Slovenia Andorra La Vella

Pool B

Germany and Moldova qualified for Round 3. Denmark entered the playoffs.

Place Nation Games Points Table
points
played won drawn lost for against difference
1  Germany 4 4 0 0 248 27 +221 12
2  Moldova 4 2 0 2 110 63 +47 8
3  Denmark 4 2 0 2 33 84 -51 8
4  Austria 4 2 0 2 42 111 -66 8
5  Luxembourg 4 0 0 4 20 168 -148 4

Match Schedule

30 October 2004
 Denmark  11 - 20  Moldova Odense
13 November 2004
 Moldova  18 - 27  Germany Chisinau
13 November 2004
 Luxembourg  5 - 6  Denmark Cessange
27 November 2004
 Germany  96 - 0  Luxembourg Heidelberg
2 April 2005
 Germany  56 - 0  Denmark Heidelberg
9 April 2005
 Denmark  16 - 3  Austria Fredericia
16 April 2005
 Moldova  55 - 6  Luxembourg Chisinau
23 April 2005
 Austria  9 - 69  Germany Vienna
30 April 2005
 Austria  19 - 7  Moldova Vienna
7 May 2005
 Luxembourg  9 - 11  Austria Cessange

Pool C

Belgium and the Netherlands qualified for Round 3. Sweden entered the playoffs.

Place Nation Games Points Table
points
played won drawn lost for against difference
1  Belgium 4 4 0 0 95 46 +49 12
2  Netherlands 4 3 1 0 133 53 +80 10
3  Sweden 4 2 0 2 76 98 -22 8
4  Latvia 4 1 0 3 63 103 -40 6
5  Lithuania 4 0 0 4 56 123 -67 4

Match Schedule

23 October 2004
 Latvia  18 - 20  Sweden Valmiera
30 October 2004
 Belgium  23 - 16  Latvia Boitsfort
31 October 2004
 Sweden  32 - 20  Lithuania Helsingborg
9 April 2005
 Lithuania  13 - 21  Belgium Jurbarkas
16 April 2005
 Belgium  15 - 10  Netherlands Vise
23 April 2005
 Netherlands  24 - 17  Sweden Amsterdam
30 April 2005
 Sweden  7 - 36  Belgium Stockholm
30 April 2005
 Latvia  19 - 12  Lithuania Riga
7 May 2005
 Netherlands  48 - 10  Latvia Amsterdam
14 May 2005
 Lithuania  11 - 51  Netherlands Klaipeda

Pool D

Poland and Serbia and Montenegro qualified for round 3. Malta entered the playoffs.

Place Nation Games Points Table
points
played won drawn lost for against difference
1  Poland 4 4 0 0 125 49 +49 12
2  Serbia and Montenegro 4 2 1 1 79 52 +27 9
3  Malta 4 2 0 2 65 85 -20 8
4  Switzerland 4 1 1 2 77 51 -19 7
5  Bulgaria 4 0 0 4 38 148 -110 4

Match Schedule

2 October 2004
 Poland  20 - 15  Switzerland Gdynia
16 October 2004
 Switzerland  8 - 17  Malta Avusy
6 November 2004
 Malta  13 - 38  Poland Marsa
13 November 2004
 Serbia and Montenegro  33 - 10  Bulgaria Belgrade
12 March 2005
 Switzerland  43 - 3  Bulgaria Geneva
19 March 2005
 Serbia and Montenegro  11 - 11  Switzerland Belgrade
9 April 2005
 Malta  17 - 24  Serbia and Montenegro Marsa
16 April 2005
 Bulgaria  15 - 23  Malta Sofia
23 April 2005
 Bulgaria  10 - 49  Poland Sofia
7 May 2005
 Poland  18 - 11  Serbia and Montenegro Lodz

Playoffs

Andorra and Malta qualified for Round 3.

21 May 2005
 Denmark  12 - 3  Malta Copenhagen
29 May 2005
 Malta  28 - 18  Denmark Marsa

Malta win 31-30 on aggregate

28 May 2005
 Andorra  30 - 20  Sweden Foix (France)
4 June 2005
 Sweden  14 - 10  Andorra Vanersborg

Andorra won 40-34 on aggregate

Round 3

Pool A

Spain entered playoff.

Place Nation Games Points Table
points
played won drawn lost for against difference
1  Spain 4 4 0 0 163 32 +131 12
2  Moldova 4 3 1 0 88 96 -8 10
3  Netherlands 4 2 0 2 113 75 -28 8
4  Poland 4 1 0 3 63 131 -68 6
5  Andorra 4 0 0 4 30 123 -103 4

Match Schedule

29 October 2005
 Poland  18 - 14  Andorra Sopot
12 November 2005
 Spain  68 - 12  Poland Madrid
12 November 2005
 Moldova  30 - 27  Netherlands Chisinau
19 November 2005
 Moldova  7 - 40  Spain Chisinau
26 November 2005
 Netherlands  51 - 0  Andorra Amsterdam
11 March 2006
 Andorra  0 - 31  Spain Andorra La Vella
8 April 2006
 Poland  13 - 27  Moldova Sochaczew
22 April 2006
 Netherlands  22 - 20  Poland Amsterdam
29 April 2006
 Spain  24 - 13  Netherlands Madrid
6 May 2006
 Andorra  16 - 23  Moldova Andorra La Vella

Pool B

Germany entered playoff.

Place Nation Games Points Table
points
played won drawn lost for against difference
1  Germany 4 4 0 0 209 30 +179 12
2  Belgium 4 3 1 0 81 68 -13 10
3  Malta 4 2 0 2 42 85 -23 8
4  Croatia 4 1 0 3 76 86 -10 6
5  Serbia and Montenegro 4 0 0 4 27 166 -139 4

Match Schedule

8 October 2005
 Croatia  26 - 9  Serbia and Montenegro Split
29 October 2005
 Belgium  26 - 20  Croatia Brussels
29 October 2005
 Malta  0 - 43  Germany Marsa
5 November 2005
 Serbia and Montenegro  3 - 16  Malta Pancevo
11 November 2005
 Germany  108 - 0  Serbia and Montenegro Heidelberg
8 April 2006
 Serbia and Montenegro  15 - 36  Belgium Belgrade
15 April 2006
 Malta  26 - 15  Croatia Marsa
22 April 2006
 Croatia  15 - 25  Germany Zagreb
22 April 2006
 Belgium  24 - 0  Malta Brussels
29 April 2006
 Germany  33 - 15  Belgium Hanover

Playoff

Spain qualified for Round 4.

14 May 2006
 Germany  18 - 6  Spain Heidelberg
28 May 2006
 Spain  36 - 10  Germany Madrid

Spain win 42-28 on aggregate

European Nations Cup Division 1 2004/06

See European Nations Cup (rugby union)

Romania, Georgia, and Portugal qualified for Round 5. Russia, Czech Republic, and Ukraine qualified for Round 4.

Place Nation Games Points Table
points
played won drawn lost for against difference
1  Romania 10 8 0 2 389 94 +295 26
2  Georgia 10 8 0 2 353 125 +228 26
3  Portugal 10 6 1 3 193 183 +10 23
4  Russia 10 4 1 5 290 202 +88 19
5  Czech Republic 10 3 0 7 164 306 -142 16
5  Ukraine 10 0 0 10 77 556 -479 10

Round 4 - September 2006

Spain and Russia qualified for Round 5.

16 September 2006
 Czech Republic  12 - 33  Spain Ricany
30 September 2006
 Spain  46 - 17  Czech Republic Madrid

Spain won 79-29 on aggregate

23 September 2006
 Ukraine  11 - 25  Russia Odessa
30 September 2006
 Russia  37 - 17  Ukraine Mosca

Russia won 62-28 on aggregate

Round 5 - October 2006

Pool A

Italy qualified for World Cup as Europe 1. Portugal entered Round 6.

Place Nation Games Points Table
points
played won drawn lost for against difference
1  Italy 2 2 0 0 150 7 +143 6
2  Portugal 2 1 0 1 26 106 -80 4
3  Russia 2 0 0 2 30 93 -60 2
Match Schedule
7 October 2006
 Italy  83 - 0  Portugal L'Aquila
14 October 2006
 Russia  7 - 67  Italy Moskow
28 October 2006
 Portugal  26 - 23  Russia Lisbon

Pool B

Romania qualified for World Cup as Europe 2. Georgia entered Round 6.

Place Nation Games Points Table
points
played won drawn lost for against difference
1  Romania 2 2 0 0 63 28 +35 6
2  Georgia 2 1 0 1 45 43 +2 4
3  Spain 2 0 0 2 43 80 -37 2
Match Schedule
7 October 2006
 Romania  20 - 8  Georgia Bucharest
14 October 2006
 Spain  20 - 43  Romania Madrid
28 October 2006
 Georgia  37 - 23  Spain Tblisi

Round 6 - November 2006

Georgia qualified for World Cup as Europe 3. Portugal entered repechage as Europe 4.

11 November 2006
 Georgia  17 - 3  Portugal Tblisi
25 November 2006
 Portugal  11 - 11  Georgia Lisbon

Georgia won 28-14 on aggregate

External links
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