2011 Rugby World Cup 20th place playoff
Encyclopedia
The 2011 Rugby World Cup qualifying
process ended with a play-off to decide the 20th and final qualifier. Four teams, the best non-qualifier from each region except Oceania, competed for the last place at the 2011 Rugby World Cup
finals in New Zealand
. Romania
beat Uruguay
in the play-off final, and goes on to compete in Pool B in New Zealand, along with Argentina
, England
, Scotland
and Georgia
.
The play-off was contested on a knockout basis, with a semi-final and a two-legged home and away final. One semi-final featured Romania, the winner of the European Nations Cup Champions Playoff Series, defeating Tunisia
, the loser of the African final
. The other saw Uruguay, the loser of Round Four of the Americas
qualification, beat Kazakhstan
, the second place finisher at the 2010 Asian Five Nations.
The host of each semi-final was the team with the higher IRB Ranking at the moment when it became known who the two teams were.
Romania won the final over Uruguay with a victory and a draw to qualify for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
* IRB World Rankings on 22 May 2010, the date that both the Asia and Americas qualifiers were known.
** IRB World Rankings on 5 June 2010, the date that both the African and European qualifiers were known.
2011 Rugby World Cup qualifying
2011 Rugby World Cup qualifying began at the 2007 tournament in France, where twelve teams earned a place in the finals of the tournament, this automatically qualified them for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.After much speculation, it was confirmed on 30 November 2007 that 20 teams would...
process ended with a play-off to decide the 20th and final qualifier. Four teams, the best non-qualifier from each region except Oceania, competed for the last place at the 2011 Rugby World Cup
2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005...
finals in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. Romania
Romania national rugby union team
The Romania national rugby union team , nicknamed The Oaks , is the representative side of Romania in rugby union. Long considered one of the stronger European teams outside the Six Nations, they have participated in all six Rugby World Cups, and currently compete in the first division of the...
beat Uruguay
Uruguay national rugby union team
The Uruguay national rugby union team is the representative side of Uruguay, governed by the Unión de Rugby del Uruguay. They have been playing international rugby since 1948. Their jersey is blue and black and they are known as Los Teros. They qualified twice for the Rugby World Cup, in 1999 and...
in the play-off final, and goes on to compete in Pool B in New Zealand, along with Argentina
Argentina national rugby union team
The Argentina national rugby team, nicknamed Los Pumas, represents Argentina in international rugby union matches. The team, which plays in sky blue and white jerseys, is organised by the Argentine Rugby Union .Argentina played its first international rugby match in 1910 against a touring British...
, England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
, Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
and Georgia
Georgia national rugby union team
The Georgia national rugby union team represents Georgia in rugby union. The team's nickname, The Lelos, comes from lelo burti, a traditional Georgian sport with strong similarities to rugby. Lelo has been adopted as the Georgian word for "try"...
.
The play-off was contested on a knockout basis, with a semi-final and a two-legged home and away final. One semi-final featured Romania, the winner of the European Nations Cup Champions Playoff Series, defeating Tunisia
Tunisia national rugby union team
The Tunisia national rugby union team is the national team of Tunisia, a third tier rugby union nation. They first started competing in 1979 and they competed, unsuccessfully in the African qualification for the 2007 Rugby World Cup....
, the loser of the African final
2011 Rugby World Cup - Africa qualification
In the African Regional Qualifying Process, 14 of the 15 eligible IRB member nations took part ....
. The other saw Uruguay, the loser of Round Four of the Americas
2011 Rugby World Cup - Americas qualification
In the American Region for Rugby World Cup Qualifying, two teams, Canada and USA, qualified directly to the world cup and the third place, Uruguay, will enter a playoff against the third place European team and the second place African and Asian teams....
qualification, beat Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan national rugby union team
The Kazakhstan national rugby union team represents Kazakhstan at international level of rugby union. The team are nicknamed "The Nomads" and are controlled by the Kazakhstan Rugby Union....
, the second place finisher at the 2010 Asian Five Nations.
The host of each semi-final was the team with the higher IRB Ranking at the moment when it became known who the two teams were.
Romania won the final over Uruguay with a victory and a draw to qualify for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
Participants
| Qualifying zone | Nation |
|---|---|
| Africa 2011 Rugby World Cup - Africa qualification In the African Regional Qualifying Process, 14 of the 15 eligible IRB member nations took part .... |
(34**) |
| Americas 2011 Rugby World Cup - Americas qualification In the American Region for Rugby World Cup Qualifying, two teams, Canada and USA, qualified directly to the world cup and the third place, Uruguay, will enter a playoff against the third place European team and the second place African and Asian teams.... |
(22*) |
| Asia 2011 Rugby World Cup - Asia qualification Asia's world cup qualifiers will be centred around its flagship tournament, the Asian Five Nations. The winner of the 2010 tournament will qualify, but to give all teams a chance of qualification the 2008 and 2009 seasons will also be part of the qualification process... |
(26*) |
| Europe 2011 Rugby World Cup - Europe qualification In the European Regional Rugby World Cup Qualifying, two teams, Georgia and Russia, qualified directly to the world cup and Romania, the third place team, entered a playoff against the second place African team, Tunisia.... |
(19**) |
Preliminary round
| Match results | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Home | Score | Away | Venue | Referee |
| 17 July 2010 | 56 - 13 | Stadionul Gloria, Buzău Buzau The city of Buzău is the county seat of Buzău County, Romania, in the historical region of Wallachia. It lies near the right bank of the Buzău River, between the south-eastern curvature of the Carpathian Mountains and the lowlands of Bărăgan Plain.The city's name dates back to 376 AD when the name... |
 Pascal Gauzere |
||
| 17 July 2010 | 44 - 7 | Estadio Charrúa Estadio Charrúa Estadio Charrúa is a multi-use stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay. It is currently used mostly for football and rugby union matches, and is the regular home of the Uruguay rugby team. The stadium holds about 14,000 people. It was built in 1984 and then, in 2006 was re-built thanks to a FIFA project... , Montevideo Montevideo Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento... |
 Francisco Pastrana |
||