2007 Rugby World Cup – Europe qualification

2007 Rugby World Cup - European qualification was a European Nations Cup competition that 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.

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.

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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 months before after a match between Australia and Pacific Islands.

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Austria won 41-17 on aggregate

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Bulgaria won 92-6 on aggregate

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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

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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	100	63	+37	8
3	Denmark	4	2	0	2	33	84	-51	8
4	Austria	4	2	0	2	42	101	-56	8
5	Luxembourg	4	0	0	4	20	168	-148	4

Match Schedule

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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	0	1	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

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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	+76	12
2	Serbia and Montenegro	4	2	1	1	79	52	+27	9
3	Malta	4	2	0	2	66	85	-19	8
4	Switzerland	4	1	1	2	77	51	+26	7
5	Bulgaria	4	0	0	4	38	148	-110	4

Match Schedule

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Playoffs

Andorra and Malta qualified for Round 3.

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Malta win 31-30 on aggregate

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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	0	1	87	96	-9	10
3	Netherlands	4	2	0	2	113	74	+39	8
4	Poland	4	1	0	3	63	131	-68	6
5	Andorra	4	0	0	4	30	123	-93	4

Match Schedule

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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	0	1	101	68	+33	10
3	Malta	4	2	0	2	42	85	-43	8
4	Croatia	4	1	0	3	76	86	-10	6
5	Serbia and Montenegro	4	0	0	4	27	186	-159	4

Match Schedule

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Playoff

Spain qualified for Round 4.

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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.

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Spain won 79-29 on aggregate

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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	-63	2

Match Schedule

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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

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Round 6 - November 2006

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

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Georgia won 28-14 on aggregate

External links

• World Cup website