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2021 Men's Rugby League World Cup qualification

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The 2021 Men's Rugby League World Cup qualification was the qualifying process which will decide the 8 teams that would join the 8 quarter-finalists from the 2017 World Cup including the hosts England, who received an automatic spot, at the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. The process commenced in June 2018, with the commencement of the 2018–19 Rugby League European Championship C tournament, which acted as the first round for European qualification.

2021 World Cup qualification
Tournament details
DatesJune 2018 – November 2019
Teams20 (from 4 confederations)
← 2017
2026 →

Background

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In October 2016, England was announced as the host the tournament, granting them automatic qualification.[1]

In March 2017, the RLIF confirmed that the 8 quarter-finalists from the 2017 World Cup would receive automatic qualification to the 2021 tournament, along with details of how many slots each region will be allocated: "Seven teams will be qualified from Europe, six from the Asia-Pacific, two from the Americas, and one from a play-off series hosted in Middle East/Africa."[2] Because Lebanon gained automatic qualification, a repechage play-off between the 2nd placed Middle East/Africa team (behind Lebanon), 2nd placed Americas team (behind the Americas qualifying team), and the 7th placed Asia-Pacific team (behind the 6 auto qualifiers) will take place instead of qualifying 2 Americas teams.

The RLIF requires participating nations to hold full or affiliate level membership.[3] The Netherlands are the only such nation that opted to not participate.

Qualified teams

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Team Method of
qualification 		Date of
qualification 		Total
times
qualified 		Last
time
qualified 		Current
consecutive
appearances 		Previous best
performance
  England Hosts 27 October 2016 7[a] 2017 7 Runners-up (1975, 1995, 2017)
  Fiji 2017 Group D winners 10 November 2017 6 2017 6 Semi-finals (2008, 2013, 2017)
  Tonga 2017 Group B winners 11 November 2017 6 2017 6 Semi-finals (2017)
  New Zealand 2017 Group B runners-up 11 November 2017 16 2017 16 Winners (2008)
  Samoa 2017 Group B third place 11 November 2017 6 2017 6 Quarter-finals (2000, 2013, 2017)
  Australia 2017 Group A winners 11 November 2017 16 2017 16 Winners (11 times)
  Lebanon 2017 Group A third place 11 November 2017 3 2017 2 Quarter-finals (2017)
  Papua New Guinea 2017 Group C winners 12 November 2017 8 2017 8 Quarter-finals (2000, 2017)
  France Europe second round winners 11 November 2018 16 2017 16 Runners-up (1954, 1968)
  Wales Europe second round runners-up 11 November 2018 6[a] 2017 3 Semi-finals (1995, 2000)
  Jamaica Americas Championship winners 17 November 2018 1 – 1 –
  Ireland Europe third round Group A winners 9 November 2019 5[a] 2017 5 Quarter-finals (2000, 2008)
  Italy Europe third round Group A runners-up 9 November 2019 3 2017 3 Group stage (2013, 2017)
  Scotland Europe third round Group B winners 9 November 2019 5[a] 2017 5 Quarter-finals (2013)
  Greece Europe third round Group B runners-up 9 November 2019 1 – 1 –
  Cook Islands Inter-regional repechage winners 16 November 2019 3 2013 1 Group stage (2000, 2013)
Notes
  1. ^ a b c d Competed as part of Great Britain in nine previous tournaments, finishing as champions on three occasions (1954, 1960, 1972). The squads largely consisted of English players, but also featured Welsh players in every tournament. Scotland (1954, 1968, 1977, 1989–92) and Ireland (1957) were represented by native-born players in some tournaments.

Europe

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England were the only European team to have been guaranteed qualification as they are hosting the tournament. France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales all failed to reach the quarter finals of the 2017 World Cup. With the World Cup expanding to 16 teams in 2021, one extra European slot was available in comparison to the 2017 tournament.

The qualification structure is as follows:[4]

  • First round: 4 teams, who are the top-ranked teams in Europe excluding England, play in round-robin matches for the 2018 European Championship. The winners and runners-up qualify for the World Cup, with third and fourth place advancing to the third round.
  • Second round: 6 teams divided into two pools of three teams play round-robin matches with the winners and runners-up of each pool qualifying for the World Cup.

First round

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Main article: 2018 Rugby League European Championship

The 2018 European Championship acted as the second round of European qualification for the 2021 World Cup and automatically qualified 2 teams to the World Cup; France and Wales. The bottom two nations; Ireland and Scotland, became the top seeds in the third round.[5][6]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1   France 3 3 0 0 106 38 +68 6 Qualification for 2021 Rugby League World Cup
2   Wales 3 2 0 1 108 74 +34 4
3   Ireland 3 1 0 2 54 74 −20 2 Advance to Europe Repêchage for 2021 World Cup qualification
4   Scotland 3 0 0 3 32 114 −82 0
Source: ERL
27 October 2018
14:00 IST (UTC+01:00)
Ireland   36−10   Scotland
Tries: Higginson (2), Bentley, McCarthy, McMahon, O'Donnell, Ryan
Goals: Finn (4/7)
 Report
 Tries: Glohe, Kavangh
Goals: Brierley (1/2)
Morton Stadium, Santry[7]
Attendance: 200[8]
Referee: Tom Grant (England)[9]
27 October 2018
18:00 CEST (UTC+02:00)
France   54–18   Wales
Tries: Escaré (2), Marcon (2), Ader, Curran, Gigot, Miloudi, Navarette
Goals: Gigot (7/8), Albert (1/1), Curran (1/1)
 Report
 Tries: Kear, Olds, Ralph
Goals: Olds (3/3)
2 November 2018
19:30 GMT (UTC+00:00)
Scotland   12–50   Wales
Tries: Bell, Dixon
Goals: Brierley (2/2)
 Report
 Tries: Williams (3), Jenkins (2), Ralph (2), Butler, Evans
Goals: Olds (7/9)
Netherdale, Galashiels[11]
Attendance: 250[12]
Referee: Ben Casty (France)[9]
3 November 2018
14:00 GMT (UTC+00:00)
Ireland   10–24   France
Tries: McNally, Ryan
Goals: Finn (1/2)
 Report
 Tries: De Costa (2), Ader, Marcon
Goals: Gigot (4/5)
Morton Stadium, Santry[7]
Attendance: 250[13]
Referee: Scott Mikalauskas (England)[9]
10 November 2018
18:00 CET (UTC+01:00)
France   28–10   Scotland
Tries: Escaré (2), Fages, Marion
Goals: Escaré (6/6)
 Report
 Tries: Dixon, Robertson
Goals: Brierley (0/1), Thomas (1/1)
Stade Albert Domec, Carcassonne[7]
Attendance: 2,854[14]
Referee: Greg Dolan (England)[9]
11 November 2018
15:00 GMT (UTC+00:00)
Wales   40–8   Ireland
Tries: Bennion, Butler, Evans, Lloyd, Ralph, Williams
Goals: Olds (8/10)
 Report
 Tries: Grix, King
Goals: Finn (0/2)
Racecourse Ground, Wrexham[15]
Attendance: 1,257[16]
Referee: Gareth Hewer (England)[9]

Second round

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Main article: 2021 Men's Rugby League World Cup qualification – Europe Repechage

The third round of European qualification allowed four of the six teams to advance to the World Cup. It was scheduled for October and November 2019 and consisted of Ireland, Scotland, Serbia[a], Spain, Greece and Italy. The six teams were split into two round-robin pools. The winners and runner-up in each pool qualified for the 2021 World Cup. There was no European qualification to the intercontinental play-off. The qualifiers were Ireland and Italy from Pool A and Scotland and Greece from Pool B.

Pool A

Pos Team
 Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1   Ireland 2 2 0 0 67 12 +55 4 Qualification for 2021 Rugby League World Cup
2   Italy 2 1 0 1 38 29 +9 2
3   Spain 2 0 0 2 12 76 −64 0
Source: ERL
26 October 2019
17:00 CEST (UTC+02:00)
Spain   8–42   Ireland
Tries: R. Franco
Goals: Pallares (2/2)
 Report
 Tries: McCarthy (2), Bentley, Keyes, McNally, Podesta, Roberts
Goals: Podesta (7/7)
Ciutat de l'Esport, Xàtiva[18][19]
Attendance: 1,013[20]
Referee: Geoffrey Poumes (France)[21]
Touch judges: Ludovic Bernard (France), Alexandre Guedes (France)
2 November 2019
16:00 CET (UTC+01:00)
Italy   34–4   Spain
Tries: Passera (2), Campagnolo, King, Santi, Tramontana
Goals: Campagnolo (5/7)
 Report
 Tries: L. Franco
Goals: Pallares (0/1)
Stadio G. Teghil, Lignano Sabbiadoro[18]
Referee: Benjamin Casty (France)[21]
Touch judges: Jaroslav Bžoch (Czech Republic), Geoffrey Poumes (France)
9 November 2019
19:00 IST (UTC+01:00)
Ireland   25–4   Italy
Tries: Moran (2), McNally, King
Goals: Podesta (4/4)
Drop goals: Keyes
 Report
 Tries: Tramontana
Goals: Campagnolo (0/1)
Morton Stadium, Santry[18]
Referee: Liam Moore (England)[21]
Touch judges: Gareth Jones (England), Andy Smith (England)


Pool B

Pos Team
 Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1   Scotland 2 2 0 0 128 24 +104 4 Qualification for 2021 Rugby League World Cup
2   Greece 2 1 0 1 106 48 +58 2
3   Serbia 2 0 0 2 6 168 −162 0
Source: ERL
26 October 2019
15:00 BST (UTC+01:00)
Scotland   86–0   Serbia
Tries: Oakes (3), Scott (3), Brierley (2), Alex Walker (2), Glohe, Hellewell, Kavanagh, McLelland, Turland
Goals: Brierley (13/15)
 Report
Lochinch Sports Pavilion, Glasgow[18][22]
Attendance: 300[23]
Referee: Tom Grant (England)[21]
Touch judges: Dean Bowmer (England), Jack Smith (England)
1 November 2019
20:20 GMT (UTC+00:00)
Greece   24–42   Scotland
Tries: Kambos, Mamouzelos, Tuliatu, Zampetides
Goals: Meads (4/4)
 Report
 Tries: Kavanagh (2), McLelland (2), Brierley, Douglas, Oakes, Scott
Goals: Brierley (2/6), Thomas (2/2), Douglas (1/1)
New River Stadium, London[24]
Attendance: 350[25]
Referee: James Child (England)[21]
Touch judges: Peter Brooke (England), Matt Rossleigh (England)
9 November 2019
13:00 CET (UTC+01:00)
Serbia   6–82   Greece
Tries: Mirčeski
Goals: Zogović (1/1)
 Report
 Tries: Robinson (3), Bosmos (2), Meads (2), Mitsias (2), Constantinou, Dardamanis, Kambos, Magoulias, Mamouzelos, Mougios, G. Tsikrikas
Goals: Meads (9)
Makiš Stadium, Belgrade[18]
Attendance: 180[26]
Referee: Robert Hicks (England)[21][27]
Touch judges: Denys Cherniev (Ukraine), Andrew Pilkington (Spain)

Americas

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Main article: 2018 Americas Rugby League Championship

The Americas group comprised four teams and was played as a single elimination knock-out tournament. Jamaica won the group beating Canada in the first round and then United States in the final. United States qualified for the intercontinental play-off by finishing as the runner-up of the tournament.[28]

Semi-finals Final
    
  Canada 8
  Jamaica 38
  United States 10
  Jamaica 16
  United States 62
  Chile 0
First semi-final
13 November 2018
17:30 EDT (UTC−04:00)
Canada   8–38   Jamaica
Tries: Borggren, McGoff
 Report
 Tries: B. Jones-Bishop (2), A. Brown, Bryan, Golding, Magrin, Thomas
Goals: Coleman (5/7)
Second semi-final
13 November 2018
20:00 EDT (UTC−04:00)
United States   62–0   Chile
Tries: Anderson (4), Burroughs (3), Faraimo (2), Offerdahl (2), Donehue, Howard
Goals: Faraimo (5/13)
 Report
Hodges Stadium, Jacksonville[29]
Referee: Geoffrey Poumes (France)
Championship final
17 November 2018
16:00 EDT (UTC−04:00)
United States   10–16   Jamaica
Tries: Burroughs, Donehue
Goals: Faraimo (1/2)
 Report
 Tries: Ogden, Farrell
Goals: Coleman (4/6)

Inter-regional Repechage

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Main article: 2021 Men's Rugby League World Cup qualification – Inter-regional Repechage

The intercontinental play-off consisted of the Americas championship runner up (United States), 7th highest ranked Asia-Pacific team (Cook Islands), and the 2nd highest ranked Middle East-Africa team (South Africa). Cook Islands played South Africa in a preliminary match, which Cook Islands won. They then defeated the United States in the final play-off match, clinching the final place at the World Cup.

Play-off qualifier Play-off
  United States 16
  Cook Islands 66   Cook Islands 38
  South Africa 6
Play-off qualifier
21 June 2019
19:00 AEST (UTC+10:00)
Cook Islands   66–6   South Africa
Tries: Ulberg (3), Niukore (2), R. Rennie (2), Dargan, E. Noovao, Puna, V. Rennie, Teroi
Goals: Marsters (9/12)
 Tries: Turner
Goals: Cryer (1/1)
Ringrose Park, Sydney[30][31]
Attendance: 2,621[32]
Referee: Peter Gough (Australia)[33]
Touch judges: Adam Cassidy (Australia), Darian Furner (Australia)[33]
Player of the Match: Vincent Rennie (Cook Islands)
Play-off
16 November 2019
17:00 ET (UTC−04:00)[34]
United States   16–38   Cook Islands
Tries: Faraimo, Howard, Shipway
Goals: Faraimo (2/3)
 Report
 Tries: Dargan (2), Arona, Gelling, Glenn, R. Rennie, V. Rennie
Goals: Marsters (5/7)
Hodges Stadium, Jacksonville[35]
Attendance: 150[36]
Referee: Scott Mikalauskas (England)
Touch judges: Peter Tapper (Jamaica), Kemoy White (Jamaica)[37]

Notes

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  1. ^ Russia were the winners of the European Qualifying B tournament but withdrew from the play-offs in August 2019 to be replaced by Serbia.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "England to host RLWC2021 - North America recommended for RLWC2025". RLIF. 27 October 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  2. ^ "Statement from the RLIF Board meeting - March 28th 2017". RLIF. 29 March 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  3. ^ "RLIF - Competitions". RLIF. Retrieved 29 August 2018. It is open to all full and affiliate members of the RLIF.
  4. ^ "The Road to the 2021 Rugby League World Cup Begins in Vrchlabi". Rugby League International Federation. 26 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  5. ^ "World Cup qualification up for grabs this autumn as Wales face France, Ireland and Scotland in European Championship". Wales Rugby League. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Next steps on road to World Cup 2021 revealed for Europe & Americas". Asia Pacific RL. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d "Euro 2018: France – Galles et France – Ecosse à Domec (Carcassonne)" (in French). FFR XIII. 6 September 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  8. ^ Ireland vs. Scotland
  9. ^ a b c d e f "Most diverse ever match official panel named for European Championship". Wales Rugby League. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  10. ^ France vs. Wales
  11. ^ "Wales face Scotland at Netherdale, Galashiels this autumn". Wales Rugby League. 16 August 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  12. ^ Scotland vs. Wales
  13. ^ Ireland vs. France
  14. ^ France vs Scotland
  15. ^ "Wrexham's Racecourse Stadium will host Wales' international with Ireland". Wales Rugby League. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  16. ^ Wales vs. Ireland
  17. ^ Caplan, Phil (25 August 2019). "Serbia replace Russia in Rugby League World Cup qualifiers" (Press release). Rugby League European Federation. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  18. ^ a b c d e "European play-off draw made". Rugby League World Cup. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  19. ^ "España vs Irlanda". Twitter (in Spanish). España Rugby League. 7 October 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  20. ^ "Spain vs. Ireland - Spain 8 lost to Ireland 42".
  21. ^ a b c d e f "Match Officials and streaming details announced for World Cup Qualifiers". RLIF. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  22. ^ "Tweet". Twitter. Scotland Rugby League. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  23. ^ "Scotland vs. Serbia - Rugby League Project".
  24. ^ "Greece forced to play World Cup qualifier in London". RLIF. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  25. ^ "Greece vs. Scotland - Rugby League Project".
  26. ^ "Serbia vs. Greece - Rugby League Project".
  27. ^ "Srbija – Grčka 6-82" (in Serbian). Serbian RL. 9 November 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  28. ^ "Rugby League World Cup: Jamaica reach tournament for first time". BBC Sport. 17 November 2018.
  29. ^ a b c "Jacksonville to host Americas Qualifier Tournament for RLWC2021". RLIF.com. 24 September 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  30. ^ "Cook Islands Rugby League focused on World Cup qualifier". Radio NZ. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  31. ^ "Cook Islands to face South Africa in qualifier for RLWC2021". RLIF. 21 April 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  32. ^ "Cook Islands vs. South Africa - Cook Islands 66 def. South Africa 6".
  33. ^ a b "Match officials for RLWC2021 Qualifier and RLIF Oceania Cup fixtures". RLIF. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  34. ^ Freeman, Clayton (15 November 2019). "U.S., Cook Islands to clash in Rugby League World Cup playoff at UNF". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  35. ^ "Jacksonville to host final qualifier for RLWC2021". RLIF.com. 11 June 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  36. ^ "United States of America vs. Cook Islands - United States of America 16 lost to Cook Islands 38".
  37. ^ "Tweet". Twitter. Jamaica Rugby League Association. 18 November 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
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