| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 2007 – 2010 |
| No. of nations | 79 |
← 2007 2015 → | |
2011 Rugby World Cup qualifying began at the 2007 tournament in France, where twelve teams (the first three in each of the four pools) earned a place in the finals of the tournament, this automatically qualified them for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.[1]
After much speculation, it was confirmed on 30 November 2007 that 20 teams would contest the next edition of the tournament.[2] The qualification system for the remaining eight places was region-based, with Europe and the Americas allocated two qualifying places, Africa, Asia and Oceania one place each, and the last place determined by a playoff.[3]
With 79 teams participating in regional qualifying competitions, and 12 teams qualifying automatically, 91 nations were involved in the process.
- ^ "Rankings to determine RWC pools". BBC News. 22 February 2008.
- ^ "Twenty teams to compete at Rugby World 2011". Official RWC 2011. 30 November 2007. Archived from the original on 19 October 2011.
- ^ "Caribbean kick off for RWC 2011 qualifying". Official RWC 2011. 3 April 2008. Archived from the original on 5 September 2011.