2011 Rugby World Cup – Americas qualification

File:Rugby World Cup 2011 qualifier.jpg

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, entered a playoff against the third place European team and the second place African and Asian teams.

The qualification process started with regional qualification tournaments. First a Caribbean tournament in the Cayman Islands during April 2008, was won by Trinidad & Tobago. South America's Second Division 2008 South American Rugby (division B) was the next tournament to take place. Brazil won on the final day in Paraguay.

The two regional champions advanced to a playoff to decide who would face Uruguay and Chile in Round 3A. Brazil won both legs of the two-match series for the right to participate in the 2009 South American Rugby Championship A Division, which was won by Uruguay. Uruguay then faced the United States to determine the Americas 2 seed.

On July 11, 2009, Canada claimed the Americas 1 seed, making them the first team to qualify for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The USA followed on November 21 to claim the Americas 2 seed, sending Uruguay to the playoffs for the final place.

18 teams participated in the qualifying process. For 2007 there were 19. Changes in participation levels were due to Argentina earning a spot in the 2011 tournament with their performance in 2007, Saint Lucia not participating, and Mexico making their Rugby World Cup qualifying debut.

Round 1A (Caribbean Regional Tournament) - April 2008

The Caribbean Regional Championships held in the Cayman Islands was the first Qualifying event for the Rugby World Cup 2011. The Tournament included the nine eligible IRB members from the Caribbean & Central America. Mexico was competing in their first major international competition as one of the IRB's newest members. The Mexicans faced Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in a preliminary qualifying match to determine the final eight. The match was played at the Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. In addition to determining a champion, the tournament played out each final position. The tournament was won by Trinidad and Tobago who advanced to Round 2 of the qualifying process. The main tournament was hosted by the Cayman Islands, with all matches being played at Truman Bodden Stadium in George Town. Attendance at this tournament varied throughout, but the maximum attendance was calculated at 1,395 during the final.

Teams

• Barbados
• Guyana
• Cayman Islands
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Bahamas
• Jamaica
• Bermuda
• Mexico
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Team eliminated in the Preliminary Round)

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	April 20, 2008
	Trinidad and Tobago	39
					April 23, 2008
	Cayman Islands	12
					Trinidad and Tobago	56
	April 20, 2008
					Barbados	0
	Barbados	21
									April 26, 2008
	Mexico	20
									Trinidad and Tobago	40
	April 20, 2008
									Guyana	24
	Guyana	10
					April 23, 2008
	Jamaica	3
					Guyana	25			3rd-Place final
	April 20, 2008
					Bermuda	13
	Bermuda	29							Bermuda	17
	Bahamas	13							Barbados	6
									April 26, 2008

	Semi-finals				Final
	April 23, 2008
	Cayman Islands	6
	Mexico	13
					April 26, 2008
					Mexico	17
					Bahamas	23
					3rd-Place final
	April 23, 2008			April 26, 2008
	Jamaica	12		Cayman Islands	11
	Bahamas	19			Jamaica	10

2008 Caribbean Regional Championships
Date	Home	Score	Away	Referee
Preliminary Round
29-Mar-2008	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	7 - 47	Mexico	N/A
1st Round
20-Apr-2008	Cayman Islands	12 - 39	Trinidad and Tobago	Tony Spreadbury
20-Apr-2008	Guyana	10 - 3	Jamaica	Derek Stoltz
20-Apr-2008	Bahamas	13 - 29	Bermuda	Paul Bretz
20-Apr-2008	Barbados	21 - 20	Mexico	Aaron Christie
Bowl Semi-Finals
23-Apr-2008	Bahamas	19 - 12	Jamaica	Larry Mendez
23-Apr-2008	Cayman Islands	6 - 13	Mexico	Derek Stoltz
Championship Semi-Finals
23-Apr-2008	Bermuda	13 - 25	Guyana	Tony Spreadbury
23-Apr-2008	Trinidad and Tobago	56 - 0	Barbados	Paul Bretz
Shield Final
26-Apr-2008	Cayman Islands	11 - 10	Jamaica	N/A
Bowl Final
26-Apr-2008	Mexico	17 - 23	Bahamas	N/A
Plate Final
26-Apr-2008	Bermuda	17 - 6	Barbados	N/A
Championship Final (RWC 2011 Qualifying Final)
26-Apr-2008	Guyana	24 - 40	Trinidad and Tobago	Tony Spreadbury

Round 1B (South American Consur B Championships) - June 2008

This round is also the 2008 South American Rugby Championship B Division, a competition for second tier South American nations. The tournament was played at Colegio de San José in Asuncion, Paraguay in June 2008. The winners were Brazil who beat hosts Paraguay on the final day. They advanced to Round 2 to face Trinidad & Tobago. Brazil and Paraguay were promoted to the Division A of the Consur.

Main article: 2008 South American Rugby Championship "B"

Standings

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Difference	BP	Pts
Brazil	4	4	0	0	169	20	+149	3	19
Paraguay	4	3	0	1	181	25	+156	3	15
Venezuela	4	2	0	2	86	123	-37	2	10
Colombia	4	1	0	3	53	148	-95	0	4
Peru	4	0	0	4	23	196	-173	1	1

Matches

Match Results
Date	Winner	Score	Loser
19-Jun-2008	Paraguay	44 - 3	Venezuela
19-Jun-2008	Brazil	34 - 6	Colombia
21-Jun-2008	Venezuela	34 - 15	Colombia
21-Jun-2008	Paraguay	71 - 0	Peru
23-Jun-2008	Brazil	61 - 8	Venezuela
23-Jun-2008	Colombia	25 - 20	Peru
26-Jun-2008	Brazil	59 - 0	Peru
26-Jun-2008	Paraguay	60 - 7	Colombia
29-Jun-2008	Venezuela	41 - 3	Peru
29-Jun-2008	Brazil	15 - 6	Paraguay

Round 2 (Regional Champions Playoff)

This playoff was between the two regional champions of Round 1. The winner of the playoff progressed to join Uruguay and Chile in Round 3A.

Match Results
Date	Home	Score	Away	Venue	Referee
11-Oct-2008	Trinidad and Tobago	8 - 31	Brazil	Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar	David Smortchevsky
18-Oct-2008	Brazil	24 - 12	Trinidad and Tobago	Estádio ADC Parahyba, São José dos Campos	Santiago Slinger

Brazil advanced by winning the series two matches to none.

Round 3A (South America Consur A Championships) - April/May 2009

This round was also the 2009 South American Rugby Championship A Division, a competition for first tier South American nations. The tournament was played in Montevideo, Uruguay (with the exception of the first match played in Viña del Mar, Chile) in April and May 2009. Paraguay participated in the tournament; however, their participation was limited to the Consur A Championship and their results had no bearing on Rugby World Cup qualifying. Uruguay, who defeated Chile and Brazil, qualified for Round 4 to face the loser of Round 3B.

See also: 2009 South American Rugby Championship "A"

Standings

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Difference	Points
Uruguay	2	2	0	0	117	12	+105	6
Chile	2	1	0	1	88	49	+39	4
Brazil	2	0	0	2	6	150	-144	2

Match Results
Date	Home	Score	Away	Venue	Referee
25-Apr-2009	Chile	79 - 3	Brazil	Estadio Sausalito, Viña del Mar	TBA
29-Apr-2009	Uruguay	71 - 3	Brazil	Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo	TBA
02-May-2009	Chile	9 - 46	Uruguay	Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo	TBA

Round 3B (North American Qualification Playoff)

This round was a two legged playoff between the USA and Canada. The winner, Canada, qualified for Pool A of the 2011 Rugby World Cup as Americas 1; the USA moved on to Round 4.

Match Results
Date	Home	Score	Away	Venue	Referee
04-Jul-2009	United States	12 - 6	Canada	Blackbaud Stadium, Charleston, South Carolina	Alan Lewis
11-Jul-2009	Canada	41 - 18	United States	Ellerslie Rugby Park, Edmonton, Alberta	Alan Lewis

Series drawn 1-1. Canada won on aggregate 47 - 30.

Round 4 (Final American Qualification Playoff)

This two-legged playoff between Uruguay, the winner of South American Qualification (Round 3A), and the USA, the loser of the North American Playoff (Round 3B) qualified the United States for Pool C of the Rugby World Cup as Americas 2, while Uruguay advanced to the Final Place Playoff as Americas 3 to face Kazakhstan (the second place Asian team) in the semifinal.

Match Results
Date	Home	Score	Away	Venue	Referee
14-Nov-2009	Uruguay	22–27	United States	Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo	Federico Pastrana
21-Nov-2009	United States	27–6	Uruguay	Central Broward Regional Park, Lauderhill, Florida	David Smortchevsky

USA won the series 2–0 and 54–28 on aggregate.

Uruguay v USA

14 November 2009 18:00 (UTC-02)

Uruguay	22 – 27	United States
Try: Etcheverry 79' c Con: Etcheverry (1/1) Pen: Morales 18' Etcheverry (4) 55', 64', 74', 76'	Report	Tries: Usasz 14' m Swiryn (2) 19' m, 48' c Wyles 65' c Con: Hercus (2/4) Pen: Hercus 37'

Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Federico Pastrana (Argentina)

---

USA v Uruguay

21 November 2009 14:00 EST (UTC-05)

United States	27 – 6	Uruguay
Tries: Stanfill 20' m Swiryn 35' m Clever (2) 46' c, 80' c Con: Hercus (1/3) Malifa (1/1) Pen: Hercus (1/2) 2' Drop: Hercus (0/1)	Report	Pen: Etcheverry (2/3) 40', 43'

Central Broward Regional Park, Lauderhill Attendance: 2,237 Referee: David Smortchevsky (Canada)

See also

• Rugby World Cup
• 2011 Rugby World Cup
• 2011 Rugby World Cup qualifying

External links

• Confirmation of draw
• [1]