The qualification process for the 2003 Rugby World Cup began during the pool stages of the 1999 tournament in Wales, during which the quarterfinalists were awarded automatic qualification for the 2003 event. A further twelve teams qualified through regional tournaments and the repechage process.
Qualifiers AfricaAmericasAsiaEuropeOceaniaQualified at 1999 RWC
(holders)(Hosts) Qualified via Regional Slots (Africa 1) (Americas 1) (Americas 2) (Asia 1) (Europe 1) (Europe 2) (Europe 3) (Europe 4) (Oceania 1) (Oceania 2)Qualified via Repechage
Qualifiers 79 teams competed qualifying. Region Teams enteredqualifyingprocess Qualifyingberths Repechageberths Qualifiedteam(s) Repechageteam(s) Africa 12 1 1 Americas 17 2 1 Asia 11 1 1 Europe 32 4 1 Oceania 9 2 1 TOTALS 81 10 5 (1 WC Place)
Repechage qualification
Repechage 1 Repechage 2
Africa qualification In qualification for the 2003 Rugby World Cup, there was one position for an African nation, as well as the possibility of repechage qualification. Namibia qualified, joining automatic qualifiers South Africa at the competition in Australia.
Pool A
Match schedule DateMatchVenueResult28 July 2001Zambia - CameroonChingola, Zambia25-2411 August 2001Uganda – ZambiaKyadondo, Uganda21-1225 August 2001Cameroon - UgandaDouala, Cameroon17-0
Pool B
Match schedule DateMatchVenueResult1 September 2001Botswana - SwazilandGaborone, Botswana13-316 September 2001Madagascar – BotswanaAntananarivo, Madagascar31-1129 September 2001Swaziland - MadagascarMalkerns, Swaziland21-26
Round 2
Final standings
Match Schedule DateMatchVenueResult13 October 2001Madagascar - KenyaAntananarivo, Madagascar27-2027 October 2001Cameroon – MadagascarYaoundé, Cameroon24-3024 November 2001Kenya - CameroonNairobi, Kenya40-15
Round 3
Pool A
Match schedule DateMatchVenueResult18 May 2002Tunisia - MoroccoTunis, Tunisia27-2625 May 2002Ivory Coast – TunisiaAbidjan, Ivory Coast8-131 June 2002Morocco - Ivory CoastAbidjan, Ivory Coast23-21
Pool B
Match schedule DateMatchVenueResult2 June 2002Madagascar - ZimbabweAntananarivo, Madagascar3-5215 June 2002Namibia – MadagascarWindhoek, Namibia112-029 June 2002Zimbabwe - NamibiaBulawayo, Zimbabwe30-42
Round 4 Namibia won the round based on total tries scored (4 to 3). Namibia qualified to Pool A of the 2003 Rugby World Cup as Africa 1. Tunisia advanced to Repechage. DateMatchVenueResult30 November 2002 – TunisiaWindhoek, Namibia26-196 December 2002 – NamibiaTunis, Tunisia24-17
Americas qualification In qualification for the 2003 Rugby World Cup, a number of positions were available to Americas nations. Canada, Uruguay and the USA would eventually qualify.
Round 1 (North) Winner (Trinidad and Tobago) qualified to Round 2.
Round 1 (South) Valid also as 2001 South American Rugby Championship "B"
Winner (Brazil) qualified to Round 2.
Final standings
Match Schedule DateMatchVenueResult6-October-2001Venezuela - ColombiaVenezuela55-013-October-2001Venezuela - PeruVenezuela46-1927-October-2001Brazil - PeruBrazil51-911-November-2001Colombia - BrazilColombia12-4717-November-2001Brazil - VenezuelaBrazil14-317-November-2001Peru-ColombiaPeru31-10
Round 2 Winner (Brazil) qualified to Round 3. DateMatchVenueResult22-December-2001 - BrazilArima (Trinidad and Tobago)10-1126-January-2002 - Trinidad and TobagoBrazil9-0
Round 3
Match schedule DateMatchVenueResult13-April-2002Brazil - ChileBrazil6-4620-April-2002Paraguay - BrazilParaguay14-1328-April-2002Chile - ParaguayChile57-5
Round 4 Top two (Canada and Uruguay) qualified to World Cup as Americas 1 and 2. 3rd Place (USA) to Repechage.
Final standings
Match Schedule DateMatchVenueResult29-June-2002Canada - USACanada26-913-July-2002USA - CanadaUnited States13-3627-July-2002Chile - UruguayChile10-610-August-2002USA - ChileUnited States35-2210-August-2002Canada - UruguayCanada51-1615-August-2002USA - UruguayUnited States28-2417-August-2002Canada - ChileCanada27-624-August-2002Uruguay - CanadaUruguay25-2324-August-2002Chile - USAChile21-1331-August-2002Uruguay - USAUruguay10-931-August-2002Chile - CanadaChile11-297-September-2002Uruguay - ChileUruguay34-23
Asia qualification In qualification for the 2003 Rugby World Cup, there was one position available to the Asia qualifiers, as well as the possibility of further repechage qualification. Japan would go on to qualify for the competition.
Round 1 – April 2002
Pool A
Match schedule DateMatchVenueResult30 March 2002Malaysia - Chinese TaipeiIpoh, Malaysia3-576 April 2002Singapore – MalaysiaYio Chu Kang, Singapore34-5Not PlayedChinese Taipei - SingaporeTaiwanSingapore Foreited
Pool B
Match schedule DateMatchVenueResult5 April 2002Arabian Gulf - ThailandDoha, Qatar40-2012 April 2002Thailand – Hong KongBangkok, Thailand8-1520 April 2002Hong Kong – Arabian GulfHong Kong17-7
Pool C
Match schedule DateMatchVenueResult5 April 2002Sri Lanka - ChinaColombo, Sri Lanka9-712 April 2002China – KazakhstanShanghai, China57-1520 April 2002Kazakhstan – Sri LankaAlmaty Kazakhstan20-14
Round 2 – May, 2002
Match schedule DateMatchVenueResult18 May 2002Chinese Taipei - Hong KongTainan, Taiwan20-1525 May 2002China – Chinese TaipeiShanghai, China21-291 June 2002Hong Kong - ChinaHong Kong34-7
Round 3 – June–July, 2002 Winner (Japan) qualified to Pool B of 2003 Rugby World Cup as Asia 1. Runner-up (Korea) advanced to Repechage.
Match schedule DateMatchVenueResult16 June 2002Japan - KoreaTokyo, Japan90-2423 June 2002Chinese Taipei - KoreaTainan, Taiwan31-5430 June 2002Korea – Chinese TaipeiSeoul, South Korea119-76 July 2002Japan – Chinese TaipeiTokyo, Japan155-314 July 2002Korea - JapanSeoul, South Korea17-5521 July 2002Chinese Taipei - JapanTainan, Taiwan3-120
References