2003 Rugby World Cup – European qualification

2003 Rugby World Cup – European qualification
Tournament details
Dates23 September 2000 – 24 November 2002
No. of nations32
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2007 →

There were a number of positions open to European nations to qualify for the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia. Ireland, Romania, Georgia and Italy, joining a number of other nations that automatically qualified.

Round 1 (2000–2001)

The 18 teams that entered qualification at this stage were divided into three pools of six teams each. The winners of each pool and the best runner-up advanced to the second round of qualifying.

Pool A

Pos Team Pld W D L +/− Pts
1  Sweden 5 5 0 0 +208 15
2  Latvia 5 4 0 1 +79 13
3  Austria 5 3 0 2 +78 11
4  Israel 5 2 0 3 +51 9
5  Luxembourg 5 1 0 4 −222 7
6  Norway 5 0 0 5 −194 5
Date Home team Score Away team Venue
23 September 2000  Norway 9–41  Luxembourg Stavanger, Norway
21 October 2000  Austria 10–42  Sweden Vienna, Austria
28 October 2000  Latvia 24–19  Luxembourg Riga, Latvia
28 October 2000  Sweden 44–3  Norway Korsangens, Sweden
11 November 2000  Latvia 38–12  Austria Riga, Latvia
3 March 2001  Luxembourg 3–62  Israel Luxembourg
17 March 2001  Israel 3–21  Latvia Israel
5 May 2001  Israel 43–3  Norway Israel
5 May 2001  Luxembourg 3–116  Sweden Cessange, Luxembourg
12 May 2001  Austria 77–0  Luxembourg Vienna, Austria
19 May 2001  Latvia 37–0  Norway Riga, Latvia
19 May 2001  Sweden 35–20  Israel Växjö, Sweden
2 June 2001  Austria 21–6  Israel Vienna, Austria
9 June 2001  Norway 7–51  Austria Borrebanen, Norway
9 June 2001  Sweden 17–10  Latvia Korsangens, Sweden

Pool B

Pos Team Pld W D L +/− Pts
1   Switzerland 5 4 0 1 +166 13
2  Yugoslavia 5 3 0 2 +45 11
3  Andorra 5 3 0 2 +43 11
4  Hungary 5 2 0 3 −9 9
5  Bosnia and Herzegovina 5 2 0 3 −58 9
6  Bulgaria 5 1 0 4 −187 7
Date Home team Score Away team Venue
30 September 2000  Bosnia and Herzegovina 13–12  Hungary Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
7 October 2000   Switzerland 43–6  Bosnia and Herzegovina Geneva, Switzerland
14 October 2000  Bulgaria 9–90   Switzerland Pernik, Bulgaria
14 October 2000  Andorra 12–9  Yugoslavia Andorra la Vella, Andorra
28 October 2000  Hungary 27–21  Andorra Százhalombatta, Hungary
5 November 2000  Yugoslavia 46–6  Bulgaria Dimitrovgrad, Yugoslavia
31 March 2001  Yugoslavia 25–10  Hungary Dimitrovgrad, Yugoslavia
5 May 2001   Switzerland 38–25  Andorra Lausanne, Switzerland
5 May 2001  Bulgaria 30–8  Bosnia and Herzegovina
12 May 2001  Andorra 59–10  Bulgaria Andorra la Vella, Andorra
12 May 2001   Switzerland 61–23  Hungary Basel, Switzerland
12 May 2001  Bosnia and Herzegovina 23–13  Yugoslavia
25 May 2001  Yugoslavia 13–10   Switzerland Gornji, Yugoslavia
25 May 2001  Andorra 23–13  Bosnia and Herzegovina Andorra la Vella, Andorra
25 May 2001  Hungary 46–7  Bulgaria

Pool C

Pos Team Pld W D L +/− Pts
1  Belgium 5 5 0 0 +71 15
2  Slovenia 5 3 1 1 +46 12
3  Moldova 5 3 0 2 +25 11
4  Lithuania 5 2 1 2 +38 10
5  Monaco 5 1 0 4 −30 7
6  Malta 5 0 0 5 −150 5
Date Home team Score Away team Venue
28 October 2000  Monaco 15–17  Moldova Menton, France
28 October 2000  Belgium 24–10  Slovenia King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium
18 November 2000  Slovenia 19–19  Lithuania Ljubljana, Slovenia
18 November 2000  Moldova 58–8  Malta Bender, Moldova
25 November 2000  Malta 0–26  Belgium Three Cities, Malta
2 December 2000  Monaco 8–13  Slovenia Menton, France
20 January 2001  Malta 3–9  Monaco Three Cities, Malta
3 March 2001  Monaco 12–18  Belgium Saint-Laurent-du-Var, France
7 April 2001  Belgium 26–10  Moldova Brussels, Belgium
21 April 2001  Malta 11–39  Lithuania Three Cities, Malta
28 April 2001  Slovenia 30–15  Moldova Ljubljana, Slovenia
5 May 2001  Belgium 29–20  Lithuania Laakdal, Belgium
12 May 2001  Slovenia 45–5  Malta Ljubljana, Slovenia
12 May 2001  Lithuania 33–10  Monaco Vilnius, Lithuania
2 June 2001  Moldova 20–16  Lithuania Chișinău, Moldova

Round 2 (2001–2002)

The four teams that qualified from Round 1 were joined by the six teams from the European Nations Cup Second Division. They were divided into two pools of five teams each. Each pool was played as a single round-robin tournament, and the winner of each pool advanced to Round 3.

Pool A

Pos Team Pld W D L +/− Pts
1  Poland 4 4 0 0 +69 12
2  Germany 4 2 0 2 +24 8
3  Sweden 4 2 0 2 +23 8
4  Denmark 4 2 0 2 +19 8
5  Latvia 4 0 0 4 −135 4
Date Home team Score Away team Venue
22 September 2001  Latvia 18–60  Poland Riga, Latvia
29 September 2001  Poland 18–6  Sweden Gdańsk, Poland
7 October 2001  Sweden 37–12  Latvia Trelleborg, Sweden
20 October 2001  Sweden 32–10  Germany Malmö, Sweden
27 October 2001  Denmark 33–21  Sweden Frederiksberg, Denmark
3 November 2001  Denmark 19–26  Poland Copenhagen, Denmark
10 November 2001  Germany 34–24  Denmark Heidelberg, Germany
24 November 2001  Germany 44–0  Latvia Hanover, Germany
6 April 2002  Poland 20–12  Germany Gdynia, Poland
6 April 2002  Latvia 8–32  Denmark Riga, Latvia

Pool B

Pos Team Pld W D L +/− Pts
1  Czech Republic 4 4 0 0 +95 12
2  Ukraine 4 3 0 1 +46 10
3  Croatia 4 2 0 2 −14 8
4   Switzerland 4 1 0 3 −40 6
5  Belgium 4 0 0 4 −87 4
Date Home team Score Away team Venue
22 September 2001  Czech Republic 46–3  Belgium Prague, Czech Republic
6 October 2001   Switzerland 6–32  Czech Republic Lausanne, Switzerland
13 October 2001  Croatia 5–13  Czech Republic Makarska, Croatia
13 October 2001  Ukraine 21–10  Belgium Kyiv, Ukraine
20 October 2001  Ukraine 41–7  Croatia Kyiv, Ukraine
27 October 2001  Belgium 15–22   Switzerland Brussels, Belgium
3 November 2001  Czech Republic 26–8  Ukraine Prague, Czech Republic
10 November 2001  Croatia 18–16   Switzerland Makarska, Croatia
24 November 2001  Belgium 0–26  Croatia Brussels, Belgium
24 November 2001   Switzerland 11–30  Ukraine Hermance, Switzerland

Round 3 (May–June 2002)

The two teams that advanced from Round 2 were joined by the four lowest-ranked teams from the 2000–01 European Nations Cup First Division. The six teams were divided into two pools of three teams each, again played as a single round-robin, with the winners of each pool advancing to Round 4.

Pool A

Pos Team Pld W D L +/− Pts
1  Spain 2 1 0 1 +1 4
2  Portugal 2 1 0 1 0 4
3  Poland 2 1 0 1 −1 4
Date Home team Score Away team Venue
4 May 2002  Poland 27–15  Spain Warsaw, Poland
18 May 2002  Portugal 39–26  Poland Jamor, Portugal
2 June 2002  Spain 34–21  Portugal Madrid, Spain

Pool B

Pos Team Pld W D L +/− Pts
1  Russia 2 2 0 0 +81 6
2  Czech Republic 2 1 0 1 +23 4
3  Netherlands 2 0 0 2 −104 2
Date Home team Score Away team Venue
5 May 2002  Czech Republic 18–37  Russia Prague, Czech Republic
21 May 2002  Netherlands 12–54  Czech Republic Amsterdam, Netherlands
1 June 2002  Russia 65–3  Netherlands Monino, Russia

Round 4 (September–October 2002)

In Round 4, the two teams that advanced from Round 3 were joined by the two remaining teams from the 2000–01 European Nations Cup First Division, as well as Ireland and Italy. The six teams were divided into two pools of three teams each, which were again played as a single round-robin. The top two teams from each pool qualified directly for the Rugby World Cup, while the bottom team from each pool advanced to Round 5.

Pool A

Italy qualified for the Rugby World Cup as Europe 2 and were placed in Pool D, while Romania qualified as Europe 3 and were placed in Pool A.

Pos Team Pld W D L +/− Pts
1  Italy 2 2 0 0 +55 6
2  Romania 2 1 0 1 +53 4
3  Spain 2 0 0 2 −108 2
Date Home team Score Away team Venue
22 September 2002  Spain 3–50  Italy Valladolid, Spain
28 September 2002  Italy 25–17  Romania Parma, Italy
5 October 2002  Romania 67–6  Spain Iași, Romania

Pool B

Ireland qualified for the Rugby World Cup as Europe 1 and were placed in Pool A, while Georgia qualified as Europe 4 and were placed in Pool C.

Pos Team Pld W D L +/− Pts
1  Ireland 2 2 0 0 +81 6
2  Georgia 2 1 0 1 −45 4
3  Russia 2 0 0 2 −36 2
Date Home team Score Away team Venue
21 September 2002  Russia 3–35  Ireland Krasnoyarsk, Russia
28 September 2002  Ireland 63–14  Georgia Dublin, Ireland
13 October 2002  Georgia 17–13  Russia Tbilisi, Georgia

Round 5 (October–November 2002)

The two teams that advanced from Round 4 played a two-legged tie. The winners advanced to the repechage.

Date Home team Score Away team Venue
27 October 2002  Spain 3–36  Russia Madrid, Spain
24 November 2002  Russia 22–38  Spain Krasnodar, Russia

Russia won 58–41 on aggregate. However, after it was determined they used ineligible South African players, they were ejected from the competition and Spain advanced to Repechage.[1]

Bibliography

  • "Rugby Europe Championship; European Nations Cup – Third Division / 2003 Rugby World Cup – European qualification". The Rugby Archive. 21 December 2014. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.

References

  1. ^ Russia frozen out of World Cup over illegal South Africans Archived 16 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine