Qualifying for the 2019 Rugby World Cup for the Americas began in March 2016, where across 3 years, 20 teams competed for two direct qualification spots into the final tournament, and one spot in the Repechage tournament. For qualification purposes, the two Americas regions Rugby Americas North and Sudamérica Rugby formed the Americas region to compete for the two Americas berths in the World Cup.
One team in the Americas zone, Argentina, qualified automatically after reaching the semi-finals of the 2015 World Cup. The United States and Uruguay qualified as Americas 1 and Americas 2 respectively, while Canada moved to the Repechage tournament.
Format The qualification process for the Americas region was a four-round process, the same process used for the 2015 Americas qualification.
Round 1 took place in 2016. Two pre-existing competitions, the Rugby Americas North Championship and the South American Rugby Championship Division B served as qualification tournaments, designated as Round 1A and Round 1B respectively. Round 1A was formed by the nine World Rugby members in RAN who were separated into two zones, a south and north zone. The bottom placed team from the 2015 tournament, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines had to play the returning team to the tournament, Jamaica, to earn the right to compete in the main tournament, with the winner of the qualifier match joining the south zone. The winners of each zone then competed in the Championship final, who thereby progressed to the Round 1 final. The other round 1 finalist was the winner of Round 1B, the 2016 South American Rugby Championship "B", where the winner of Round 1 advanced through to Round 2.
Round 2 also took place in 2016, with the 2016 South American Rugby Championship "A" forming Round 2A. The team placed bottom at the end of the Championship, played the winner of Round 1 in a promotion/relegation playoff to earn a place in the 2017 CONSUR Rugby Championship "A" competition and progress to Round 3.
Round 3 took place in 2017, with the top Sudamérica Rugby division, 2017 South American Rugby Championship "A", forming Round 3A. The winner of that round, advanced to Round 4. Round 3B was formed by a home-and-away play-off series between the top two non-automatic Americas qualifiers, Canada and the United States, where the winner of the play-off series qualified for the World Cup as Americas 1. The loser advanced to Round 4.
Round 4 took place in early 2018, matching the winner of Round 3A and the loser of 3B against each other in a home and away play-off. The winner of this round on aggregate, qualified as Americas 2. The loser moved to the Repechage tournament as Americas 3 for a second chance to qualify.
Entrants Twenty teams competed for the 2019 Rugby World Cup – Americas qualification; teams world rankings are prior to the first Americas qualification match on 5 March 2016 and bold nations denotes teams have previously played in a Rugby World Cup.
Nation Rank Zone Began play Qualifying status 5 South America N/A Qualified with Top 12 finish at 2015 World Cup 86 North America 7 May 2016 Eliminated by Cayman Islands on 21 May 2016 75 North America 23 April 2016 Eliminated by Trinidad and Tobago on 21 May 2016 67 North America 21 May 2016 Eliminated by Cayman Islands on 18 June 2016 38 South America 23 April 2016 Eliminated by Uruguay on 20 May 2017 19 North America 24 June 2017 Advanced to the Repechage as Americas 3 61 North America 21 May 2016 Eliminated by Mexico on 2 July 2016 27 South America 23 April 2016 Eliminated by Uruguay on 27 May 2017 47 South America 2 October 2016 Eliminated by Paraguay on 19 November 2016 NR South America 27 August 2016 Eliminated by Venezuela on 5 October 2016 NR South America 27 August 2016 Eliminated by Ecuador on 27 August 2016 54 North America 23 April 2016 Eliminated by Mexico on 1 October 2016 78 North America 5 March 2016 Eliminated by Guyana on 21 May 2016 56 North America 7 May 2016 Eliminated by Colombia on 29 October 2016 37 South America 23 April 2016 Eliminated by Chile on 20 May 2017 78 South America 2 October 2016 Eliminated by Colombia on 5 October 2016 79 North America 5 March 2016 Eliminated by Jamaica on 5 March 2016 44 North America 23 April 2016 Eliminated by Guyana on 18 June 2016 20 South America 23 April 2016 Qualified by defeating Canada on 3 February 2018 17 North America 24 June 2017 Qualified by defeating Canada on 1 July 2017 68 South America 2 October 2016 Eliminated by Colombia on 8 October 2016
Round 1 Round 1A: 2016 Rugby Americas North Championship
The qualifying match between Jamaica and St Vincent and the Grenadines was the first qualifying match for the 2019 tournament, three-and-a-half years before the start of the tournament. Jamaica defeated St Vincent and the Grenadines 48–0, eliminating them from qualifying. The match was played in front of a record crowd of 1,000 at Arnos Vale Sports Complex, and was refereed by Nigel Owens who had refereed the 2015 Rugby World Cup final. The victory boosted Jamaica to a World Rugby ranking of 72, their highest ever.
Qualifier
North Zone Advances to Championship final
RankTeamGamesPointsBonusPointsTable PointsPlayedWonDrawnLostForAgainst 1 3 3 0 0 148 37 +111 3 15 2 3 2 0 1 91 53 +38 1 9 3 3 1 0 2 51 135 –84 1 5 4 3 0 0 3 24 89 –65 1 0Points were awarded to the teams as follows:Win - 4 pointsDraw - 1 points 4 or more tries - 1 point Loss within 7 points - 1 pointLoss greater than 7 points - 0 points
Matches
South Zone Advances to Championship final
RankTeamGamesPointsBonusPointsTable PointsPlayedWonDrawnLostForAgainst 1 3 3 0 0 93 40 +53 2 14 2 3 2 0 1 91 41 +48 3 11 3 3 1 0 2 22 87 –65 0 4 4 3 0 0 3 19 57 –38 0 0Points were awarded to the teams as follows:Win - 4 pointsDraw - 1 points 4 or more tries - 1 point Loss within 7 points - 1 pointLoss greater than 7 points - 0 points
Matches1Jamaica forfeited their match due to a lack of available players.
Championship final Mexico, as winners, advance to the Round 1 final.
Round 1B: 2016 CONSUR Rugby Championship B Qualifier
2016 CONSUR Rugby Championship B The 2016 South American Rugby Championship "B" was held in October 2016 and hosted by Peru in Lima. Advances to Round 1 Final Place Nation (rank) Games Points Tablepoints Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Diff1 3 3 0 0 151 29 120 92 3 2 0 1 95 53 44 63 3 1 0 2 87 79 8 34 3 0 0 3 20 192 -172 0Points were awarded to the teams as follows:Win-3 points; Draw-1 point Matches
Round 1 Final Colombia, as winners, advance to the round 2 final.
Round 2 Round 2A: 2016 CONSUR Rugby Championship "A"
Advances to Round 3AAdvances to Round 2 Final Place Nation (rank) Games Points Tablepoints Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Diff1 3 3 0 0 135 43 +92 92 3 1 1 1 102 66 +36 43 3 1 1 1 66 77 –11 44 3 0 0 3 43 160 –117 0Points were awarded to the teams as follows:Win-3 points; Draw-1 point
Matches
Round 2 Final Paraguay, as winners, advance to round 3A.
Round 3 Round 3A: 2017 CONSUR Rugby Championship "A"
Advances to AmericasRepechage play-off Place Nation (rank) Games Points Tablepoints Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Diff1 3 3 0 0 113 57 +56 92 3 2 0 1 92 44 +48 63 3 1 0 2 94 62 +32 34 3 0 0 3 32 168 –136 0Points were awarded to the teams as follows:Win-3 points; Draw-1 point
Matches
Round 3B: United States v Canada Home & Away playoffs The United States, as winners, qualify for the Rugby World Cup. Canada, as runners-up, qualify for the Americas repechage play-off.
Team details FB 15Ciaran HearnRW 14Andrew CoeOC 13D. T. H. van der Merwe IC 12Connor Braid LW 11Taylor ParisFH 10Shane O'LearySH 9 Phil Mack N8 8 Tyler ArdronOF 7 Matt HeatonBF 6 Admir Cejvanovic RL 5 Evan OlmsteadLL 4 Brett Beukeboom (c)TP 3 Jake Ilnicki HK 2 Ray Barkwill LP 1 Djustice Sears-Duru Replacements:HK 16Benoît Piffero PR 17Anthony Luca PR 18Matt Tierney FL 19Kyle BaillieN8 20Aaron Carpenter SH 21Gordon McRorie CE 22Nick Blevins WG 23Dan MoorCoach: Mark Anscombe FB 15Ben Cima RW 14Mike Te'oOC 13Bryce CampbellIC 12Marcel BracheLW 11Matai LeutaFH 10AJ MacGintySH 9 Nate AugspurgerN8 8 Cam Dolan OF 7 John QuillBF 6 Todd Clever (c) RL 5 Nick Civetta LL 4 Ben Landry TP 3 Paddy Ryan HK 2 James Hilterbrand LP 1 Anthony Purpura Replacements:HK 16Peter Malcolm PR 17Ben Tarr PR 18Dino Waldren LK 19Matthew Jensen N8 20David Tameilau FL 21Andrew Durutalo SH 22Shaun Davies FH 23Will MagieCoach: John Mitchell Touch judges: Andrew Brace (Ireland) Shuhei Kubo (Japan) Television match official: Sean Davey (England) Notes: D. T. H. van der Merwe surpassed Winston Stanley's record of 24 tries to become Canada's top try scorer.
Team details FB 15Madison HughesRW 14Mike Te'oOC 13Bryce CampbellIC 12Marcel BracheLW 11Ryan MatyasFH 10AJ MacGinty SH 9 Nate Augspurger N8 8 Cam DolanOF 7 Tony Lamborn BF 6 Todd Clever (c) RL 5 Nick Civetta LL 4 Nate Brakeley TP 3 Chris Baumann HK 2 James Hilterbrand LP 1 Anthony Purpura Replacements:HK 16Joe Taufete'e PR 17Ben Tarr PR 18Dino Waldren N8 19David Tameilau FL 20John Quill FL 21Andrew Durutalo SH 22Shaun Davies FH 23Will Magie Coach: John Mitchell FB 15Ciaran HearnRW 14Andrew Coe OC 13Nick BlevinsIC 12Connor Braid LW 11Dan MoorFH 10Shane O'LearySH 9 Gordon McRorie N8 8 Tyler Ardron OF 7 Matt Heaton BF 6 Admir Cejvanovic RL 5 Evan OlmsteadLL 4 Brett Beukeboom (c)TP 3 Jake Ilnicki HK 2 Ray Barkwill LP 1 Djustice Sears-Duru Replacements:HK 16Benoît Piffero PR 17Anthony Luca PR 18Matt Tierney FL 19Kyle Baillie N8 20Aaron Carpenter SH 21Andrew Ferguson CE 22Giuseppe du Toit WG 23Sean Duke Coach: Mark Anscombe Touch judges: Ben Whitehouse (Wales) Shuhei Kubo (Japan) Television match official: Sean Davey (England) Notes: This win means the US qualifies as the leading Americas nation for the first time, with previous attempts seeing them qualify as Americas 2 or 3.
Round 4: Americas Repechage play-off Uruguay, as winners, qualify for the Rugby World Cup, their second time without an international play-off (first time in 2003 qualifiers). Canada, as runners-up, qualify for the Repechage qualifying tournament.
Team details FB 15Taylor ParisRW 14Jeff Hassler OC 13Ben LeSageIC 12Nick BlevinsLW 11D. T. H. van der MerweFH 10Connor Braid SH 9 Phil Mack (c) N8 8 Tyler ArdronOF 7 Matt Heaton BF 6 Evan OlmsteadRL 5 Josh Larsen LL 4 Brett BeukeboomTP 3 Jake IlnickiHK 2 Ray Barkwill LP 1 Hubert Buydens Replacements:HK 16Benoît Piffero PR 17Djustice Sears-Duru PR 18Cole KeithN8 19Admir Cejvanovic FL 20Lucas Rumball SH 21Gordon McRorie FH 22Pat Parfrey FB 23Brock Staller Coach: Kingsley Jones FB 15Rodrigo SilvaRW 14Leandro Leivas OC 13Juan Manuel Cat IC 12Andrés VilasecaLW 11Nicolás FreitasFH 10Felipe BerchesiSH 9 Santiago Arata N8 8 Alejandro NietoOF 7 Franco Lammana BF 6 Juan Manuel Gaminara (c) RL 5 Rodrigo Capó Ortega LL 4 Ignacio DottiTP 3 Mario Sagario HK 2 Germán Kessler LP 1 Mateo Sanguinetti Replacements:HK 16Carlos Pombo PR 17Matías Benítez PR 18Juan Echeverría LK 19Manuel Leindekar FL 20Rodolfo Garese SH 21Agustín Ormaechea FB 22Gastón Mieres CE 23Joaquín Prada Coach: Esteban Meneses Man of the Match: Nicolás Freitas (Uruguay)
Touch judges: Kurt Weaver (United States) Derek Summers (United States) Television match official: Marc Nelson (United States) Notes: This is the first time that Uruguay has beaten Canada in Canada.