2011 Rugby World Cup – Africa qualification explained

In the African Regional qualifying process, 14 of the 15 eligible IRB member nations took part (South Africa had already qualified from Rugby World Cup 2007).

The qualifying process began with playoffs in May, 2008. The 2008–09 Africa Cup doubled as the qualifying tournament, with the winner being Africa's direct qualifier. The runner-up of the tournament will be entered into the four-team World Cup playoff for the 20th 2011 Rugby World Cup finalist berth.

The Cup was decided first by four pools of three teams with the pool winners qualifying for the semi-finals.

Namibia swept Tunisia in a two-legged final, qualifying for Pool D of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, while Tunisia advanced to the Final Place Playoff.

Preliminary round: May 2008

Two single-legged playoffs were used to cut the nations down from the 14 eligible nations to the 12 who would compete for the 2008–09 Africa Cup. Preliminary round teams were the lowest ranked teams in the north and south respectively. Nigeria and Swaziland were eliminated in this round.

Matches

HomeScoreAwayMatch Information
width=22%Datewidth=22%Venue
26 - 6 11 May 2008Yaoundé, Cameroon
25 - 717-May-2008Gaborone, Botswana

Round 1: June / August 2008

Pool winners qualified for the semi-finals. Pools were determined through world rankings.[1]

Bonus point system:

Pool A

width=165Teamwidth=40Playedwidth=40Wonwidth=40Drawnwidth=40Lostwidth=40Forwidth=40Againstwidth=40Differencewidth=40TBwidth=40LBwidth=40Points
22004831+17109
10011013-3011
10012135-14000

Matches

HomeScoreAwayMatch Information
width=22%Datewidth=22%Venue
10 - 1314-June-2008Stade Leopold Senghor, Dakar
35 - 2102-Aug-2008Hage Geingob Rugby Stadium, Windhoek
CancelledHarare, Zimbabwe

Pool B

width=165Teamwidth=40Playedwidth=40Wonwidth=40Drawnwidth=40Lostwidth=40Forwidth=40Againstwidth=40Differencewidth=40TBwidth=40LBwidth=40Points
22005318+35109
21013839-1105
20022761-34000

Matches

HomeScoreAwayMatch Information
width=22%Datewidth=22%Venue
18 - 2914-June-2008Showgrounds, Lusaka
32 - 912-July-2008Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan
9 - 2102-Aug-2008COC Stadium, Casablanca

Pool C

width=165Teamwidth=40Playedwidth=40Wonwidth=40Drawnwidth=40Lostwidth=40Forwidth=40Againstwidth=40Differencewidth=40TBwidth=40LBwidth=40Points
22006025+35109
21019152+39105
20021892-74011

Matches

HomeScoreAwayMatch Information
width=22%Datewidth=22%Venue
10 - 1614-June-2008Yaoundé, Cameroon
76 - 812-July-2008RFUEA Ground, Nairobi
44 - 1502-Aug-2008Stade El Menzah, Tunis

Pool D

width=165Teamwidth=40Playedwidth=40Wonwidth=40Drawnwidth=40Lostwidth=40Forwidth=40Againstwidth=40Differencewidth=40TBwidth=40LBwidth=40Points
22005932+272010
21016747+20105
20022572-47000

Matches

HomeScoreAwayMatch Information
width=22%Datewidth=22%Venue
10 - 2714-June-2008Gaborone, Botswana
45 - 1512-July-2008Stade Municipal de Mahamasina, Antananarivo
32 - 2202-Aug-2008Kyodondo Rugby Club, Kampala

Round 2: semi-finals - 2009

HomeScoreAwayMatch Information
width=22%Datewidth=22%Venue
13 - 1314-June-2009Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan
54 - 1427-June-2009Hage Geingob Rugby Stadium, Windhoek
HomeScoreAwayMatch Information
width=22%Datewidth=22%Venue
17 - 4113-June-2009Kyodondo Rugby Club, Kampala
38 - 1327-June-2009Stade El Menzah, Tunis

Round 3: qualification final

Namibia and Tunisia competed for Africa's automatic place in the 2011 Rugby World Cup finals in New Zealand over two legs, with Namibia qualifying for their fourth consecutive world cup. Tunisia faced Romania, the third-placed team from Europe, in the semi-finals of the Play-off series.

HomeScoreAwayMatch Information
width=14%Datewidth=28%Venue
13 - 1814 Nov 2009Stade El Menzah, Tunis
22 - 1028 Nov 2009Hage Geingob Rugby Stadium, Windhoek

Namibia won the series 2–0, with an aggregate score of 40–23.

See also

2011 Rugby World Cup qualifying

References

  1. http://allafrica.com/stories/200802010696.html Pools decided

External links