2015 Rugby World Cup – Americas qualification

2015 Rugby World Cup – Americas qualification
Tournament details
Dates24 March 2012 – 29 May 2014
No. of nations18
Tournament statistics
Matches played30
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In the Americas Region for 2015 Rugby World Cup qualifying, Argentina had automatically qualified for the World Cup, and two places were available in the Americas qualification process, which were taken by Canada and the United States. An additional Americas team, Uruguay, also qualified as the Play-off winner.

Format

2015 Rugby World Cup qualification process for Americas. NOTE: Round 3A should read 2013, not 2012.

The qualification process for the 2–3 teams from the Americas participating in the 2015 Rugby World Cup are as follows:[1]

Round 1:

Round 1 was split into two sections, Round 1A and Round 1B.

  • The 2012 NACRA Rugby Championship acted as the qualification matches for Round 1A. The Caribbean teams were split into two zones consisting of two rounds.
Round 1 consisted of the bottom five teams of the NACRA region, to the IRB rankings, playing each other in a robin-round format. The winning nations of either zone then advanced to Round 2 of their respective zones. The winning nations in either zone after Round 2, earned the right to compete for the NACRA Rugby Championship title, thus being able to advance to the Round 1 Final.
  • The 2012 CONSUR B Rugby Championship acted as the qualification matches for Round 1B. The second division teams all played each other once, with the winning team of the tournament advancing to the Round 1 Final.
  • The Round 1 Final saw the Caribbean champions and the CONSUR B champions play each other for the right to play in the Round 2 Final against the losing team of the CONSUR A tournament, or Round 2A.

Round 2:

  • The 2012 CONSUR A Rugby Championship formed the qualification process for Round 2A. The top two teams of the tournament, remained in the division for the 2013 Championship. The bottom placed team, advanced to Round 2 Final to play the Round 1 Final victors. The winning side of Round 2 Final, earned the right to compete in the 2013 CONSUR A tournament, keeping their Rugby World Cup dreams alive.

Round 3:

Like Round 1, Round 3 was also split into two sections, Round 3A and Round 3B.

  • Round 3A used the 2013 CONSUR A Rugby Championship as the qualification matches. The winning side would advance to the Round 3 Final and would play the losing side from Round 3B.
  • Round 3B saw Canada and the United States play a two-match series in August 2013. The winner of the series qualified for the 2015 Rugby World Cup as Americas 1, and enters the tournament in Pool D. The losing team parachuted down to the Round 3 Final and would play the winning side from Round 3A.
  • The Round 3 Final, would see the loser of Round 3B play a two-match series with the winning team from Round 3A. The winner of this two-match series, qualified for the Rugby World Cup as Americas 2. The losing side, would move to the Repechage and play in an inter-confederation match against the second placed team from the Asian qualification process.

Entrants

The 2015 Rugby World Cup qualifying teams that will compete for the 2015 Rugby World Cup – Americas qualification. (World rankings, shown in brackets, are to first Americas qualification match on 24 March 2012)

Qualified nations

Round 1

Round 1A: 2012 NACRA Rugby Championship

The 2012 NACRA Championship was the first qualifying event for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The tournament featured nine IRB members from the Caribbean and North and South America. Those teams, along with their IRB World Ranking and rating points as of March 19, 2012, were as follows:

Teams

Zone 1

Round 1

The winning team, Cayman Islands, advanced to Zone 1 Round 2 to face Bahamas and Bermuda.

Advanced to Zone 1 Round 2
Place Nation Games Points Table
points
played won drawn lost for against difference
1  Cayman Islands 2 1 0 1 64 32 +32 6
2  Mexico 2 1 0 1 81 60 +21 5
3  Jamaica 2 1 0 1 33 86 -53 4
Round 2

The winning team, Bermuda, advanced to the final of the 2012 NACRA Championship, or Round 1A final, to face Zone 2 winners Guyana.

Advanced to Round 1A Final
Place Nation Games Points Table
points
played won drawn lost for against difference
1  Bermuda 2 2 0 0 23 11 +12 8
2  Cayman Islands 2 1 0 1 30 14 +16 6
3  Bahamas 2 0 0 2 15 43 -28 0

Zone 2

Round 1

The winning team, Barbados, advanced to Zone 2 Round 2 to face Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.

Advanced to Zone 2 Round 2
Place Nation Games Points Table
points
played won drawn lost for against difference
1  Barbados 2 2 0 0 85 3 +82 8
2  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2 0 0 2 3 85 -82 0
Round 2

The winning team, Guyana, advanced to the final of the 2012 NACRA Caribbean Championship, or Round 1A Final, to face Zone 1 winners Bermuda.

Advanced to Round 1A Final
Place Nation Games Points Table
points
played won drawn lost for against difference
1  Guyana 2 1 1 0 30 10 +20 6
2  Trinidad and Tobago 2 1 0 1 32 23 +9 4
3  Barbados 2 0 1 1 13 42 -29 2

Round 1A Final: NACRA Rugby Championship Final

The winning team, Bermuda, advanced to the Round 1 Final to face the winner of the 2012 CONSUR B, or Round 1B victors, Paraguay.

23 June 2012
15:30 AST (UTC-04)
Bermuda 18–0 Guyana
National Sports Center, Hamilton
Referee: Pablo Septien (Mexico)

Round 1B: 2012 CONSUR Rugby Championship B

The winning team, Paraguay, advanced to the Round 1 Final to face Bermuda, the winner of the 2012 NACRA Rugby Championship.

Advanced to Round 1 Final
Place Nation Games Points Table
points
played won drawn lost for against difference
1  Paraguay 3 3 0 0 196 28 +168 9
2  Colombia 3 2 0 1 92 66 +26 6
3  Venezuela 3 1 0 2 39 116 –77 3
4  Peru 3 0 0 3 29 146 –117 0

Number in brackets indicates the pre-tournament IRB ranking of team

Round 1 Final

The winner of 2012 NACRA Rugby Championship, Bermuda, played the winner of the 2012 CONSUR B tournament, Paraguay, in order to progress through to Round 2. Paraguay were the home team as they were the higher ranked team at 39 to Bermuda's 49.

29 September 2012
16:00 PYT (UTC-04)
Paraguay 29–14 Bermuda
Stats[21]
Club Universitario de Asunción, Asunción, Paraguay
Attendance: 2,500
Referee: Joaquín Montes (Uruguay)

Round 2

Round 2A: 2012 CONSUR Rugby Championship A

The top two teams remained in CONSUR A for the 2013 tournament (Round 3A), thus still being able to qualify for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The bottom placed team, Brazil, had to face a relegation challenge, Round 2 Final, from the CONSUR B champion, Paraguay, to earn to right to compete in the 2013 tournament and stay within the chance of qualifying for Rugby World Cup 2015.

Stays in contention of RWC place
Advances to Round 2 Final
Team Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Difference Pts
 Uruguay 2 2 0 0 54 41 +13 6
 Chile 2 1 0 1 45 33 +12 3
 Brazil 2 0 0 2 21 46 -25 0

Round 2 Final: CONSUR A/B relegation playoff

Paraguay, the winner of Round 1, faced Brazil, the last placed team in the 2012 Consur A competition, or Round 2A, for the right to compete in the 2013 Consur A, or Round 3A, and remain within the chance of qualifying for the World Cup.

Being the higher ranked team, Brazil hosted the match in front of over 10,000 spectators in São Paulo, Brazil's biggest ever home crowd.[22]

27 October 2012
13:30 BRT (UTC-03)
Brazil 35–22Paraguay 
Stats[23]
Estádio Nicolau Alayon, São Paulo
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)

Round 3

Round 3A: 2013 CONSUR Rugby Championship A

Round 3A was contested concurrently with the 2013 South American Rugby Championship "A" in Montevideo, Uruguay and Temuco, Chile between 27 April and 4 May 2013.[24] However, this tournament included already qualified nation Argentina, and therefore had no effect on who advanced to the NACRA-CONSUR playoff final. This means fixtures against Argentina by Brazil, Chile or Uruguay were not included as Rugby World Cup qualification matches. The winner of this qualifying round, Uruguay, advanced to the NACRA-CONSUR playoff final, to stay in contention for qualifying for the 2015 Rugby World Cup as Americas 2 or to progress to the Repechage qualifying.

Advanced to NACRA-CONSUR playoff final
Place Nation Games Points Table
points
played won drawn lost for against diff
1  Uruguay 2 2 0 0 81 16 +65 6
2  Chile 2 1 0 1 47 45 +2 3
3  Brazil 2 0 0 2 29 96 –67 0

Round 3B: United States v Canada Home & Away playoffs

Canada defeated the USA in a two-legged play off, sweeping the series and winning 40–20 on aggregate, thus qualifying for the World Cup as Americas 1. USA progressed to the NACRA-CONSUR playoff final against Uruguay.

17 August 2013
18:30 EDT (UTC-04)
United States 9–27 Canada
Pen: Wyles (3/5) 40', 60', 75'Stats[28]Try: Mack 1' c
Jones 50' c
Van der Merwe 63' c
Con: Pritchard (3/3) 1', 51', 64'
Pen: Pritchard (2/2) 14', 38'
Blackbaud Stadium, Charleston, South Carolina
Attendance: 5,258
Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales)
24 August 2013
16:00 EDT (UTC-04)
Canada 13–11 United States
Try: Pritchard 22' m
Marshall 60' m
Con: Pritchard (0/2)
Pen: Pritchard (1/3) 20'		Stats[29]Try: Ngwenya 16' m
Con: Wyles (0/1)
Pen: Wyles (2/4) 40', 66'
BMO Field, Toronto
Attendance: 10,207
Referee: JP Doyle (England)

Round 3 Final: NACRA-CONSUR playoff final

The losing team from Round 3B, United States, played the winner from Round 3A, Uruguay to determine who qualifies as Americas 2. The final consisted of a home-and-away series, with the winner on aggregate, United States (59–40 or 1–0), qualifying for the World Cup as Americas 2.

The loser, Uruguay, advanced to the repechage to play Asia 2, Hong Kong.

22 March 2014
16:00 UYT (UTC-03)
Uruguay 27–27 United States
Try: Prada 32' c
Ormaechea 73' m
Con: Berchesi (1/2) 33'
Pen: Berchesi (5/8) 4', 22', 30', 36', 42'		Stats[30]Try: Thiel 38' c
Manoa 46' c
Wyles 53' c
Con: Niua (3/3) 39', 47', 54'
Pen: Niua (2/3) 2', 27'
Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
29 March 2014
15:30 EDT (UTC-04)
United States 32–13 Uruguay
Try: Fry 46' c
Petri 61' c
S. Suniula 66' c
A. Suniula 68' m
Con: Wyles (3/4) 47', 62', 67'
Pen: Wyles (2/3) 35', 76'		Stats[31]Try: Prada 23' c
Con: Berchesi (1/1) 23'
Pen: Berchesi (2/3) 37', 40+1'
Fifth Third Bank Stadium, Kennesaw, Georgia
Attendance: 6,300
Referee: Greg Garner (England)

References

  1. ^ IRB, Official RWC 2015 Site, RWC Qualifying, Americas (NACRA/CONSUR), http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/qualifying/fixtures/geoarea=23914/qfdiagram.html Archived 2012-03-14 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Mexico 68 - 14 Jamaica". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-19.
  3. ^ "Jamaica 19 - 18 Cayman Islands". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-19.
  4. ^ "Cayman Islands 46 - 13 Mexico". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-19.
  5. ^ a b [USA Rugby|United
  6. ^ "Bermuda 7 - 3 Cayman Islands". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-19.
  7. ^ "Cayman Islands 27 - 7 Bahamas". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-19.
  8. ^ Tom Lyons ([[USA Rugby|United
  9. ^ "Bahamas 8 - 16 Bermuda". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-19.
  10. ^ "SVG 3 - 34 Barbados". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-19.
  11. ^ "Barbados 51 - 0 SVG". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-19.
  12. ^ "Trin' & Tob' 32 - 3 Barbados". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-19.
  13. ^ "Barbados 10 - 10 Guyana". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-19.
  14. ^ "Guyana 20 - 0 Trin' & Tob'". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-19.
  15. ^ "Paraguay 54 - 17 Colombia". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-17.
  16. ^ "Venezuela 28 - 17 Peru". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-17.
  17. ^ "Paraguay 69 - 3 Peru". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-17.
  18. ^ "Venezuela 3 - 26 Colombia". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-17.
  19. ^ "Colombia 49 - 9 Peru". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 2012-12-07.
  20. ^ "Venezuela 8 - 73 Paraguay". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 2012-12-07.
  21. ^ "Paraguay 29 - 14 Bermuda". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 2012-12-07.
  22. ^ "Brazil beginning to reap rewards of planning". IRB.com. Oct 28, 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-12-14. Retrieved 2012-10-30.
  23. ^ "Official RWC 2015 Site - Brazil beginning to reap rewards of planning". Archived from the original on 2013-12-14. Retrieved 2012-10-30.
  24. ^ Rugby World Cup 2015, Qualifying Americas, http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/qualifying/americas/index.html Archived 2014-02-14 at the Wayback Machine
  25. ^ "Chile 38 - 22 Brazil". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 2013-11-09.
  26. ^ "Uruguay 58 - 7 Brazil". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-21.
  27. ^ "Uruguay 23 - 9 Chile". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-19.
  28. ^ "USA 9 - 27 Canada". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 2014-01-02.
  29. ^ "Canada 13 - 11 USA". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 2014-01-02.
  30. ^ "Official RWC 2015 Site". 23 March 2014. Archived from the original on 23 March 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  31. ^ "Official RWC 2015 Site". 30 March 2014. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2017.