2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifying

The 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifying process began on 9 May 2015 with the 2015 European Championship C. In August 2014, it was announced that seven of the eight quarter-finalists at the 2013 tournament would receive automatic qualification.[1] Fourteen teams took part in the qualifying process to fill the remaining seven spots.

2017 Rugby League World Cup qualification
Tournament details
Dates9 May 2015 – 29 October 2016
Teams13 (from 4 confederations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played28

Qualified teams
Region Team Qualification
method		 Previous
appearances		 Previous best result
Americas  United States Americas winner 1 Quarter-finals (2013)
Asia-Pacific  Australia Hosts 14 Champions (1957, 1968, 1970, 1975, 1977, 1985–88, 1989–92, 1995, 2000, 2013)
 Fiji Automatic 4 Semi-finals (2008, 2013)
 New Zealand Hosts 14 Champions (2008)
 Papua New Guinea Hosts 6 Quarter-finals (2000)
 Samoa Automatic 4 Quarter-finals (2000, 2013)
 Tonga Asia-Pacific play-off 4 Group stages (1995, 2000, 2008, 2013)
Europe  England[lower-alpha 1] Automatic 5 Runners-up (1975, 1995)
 France Automatic 14 Runners-up (1954, 1968)
 Ireland[lower-alpha 1] Europe play-off 1 3 Quarter-finals (2000, 2008)
 Italy Europe repechage 1 Group stages (2013)
 Scotland[lower-alpha 1] Automatic 3 Quarter-finals (2013)
 Wales[lower-alpha 1] Europe play-off 2 4 Semi-finals (1995, 2000)
Middle East-Africa  Lebanon Middle East-Africa play-off 1 Group stages (2000)
  1. 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.

Qualifying process

Eight teams automatically qualified for the World Cup. Seven of the teams which reached the quarter-finals of the 2013 World Cup were granted automatic qualification, along with co-hosts Papua New Guinea.[2] The eighth quarter-finalist, the United States, were denied automatic qualification due to an internal governance dispute and instead forced to enter the qualification process.

Continental qualification

European
See also: 2014–15 Rugby League European Championship B and 2015 Rugby League European Championship C
Main article: 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualification – Europe

Three additional teams qualified from this region. A two-group, round-robin tournament took place in October 2016 to determine the qualifying nations - this was contested by the winners of the 2015 European Championship C tournament, the top three teams from the 2014–15 European Championship B tournament, and seeded nations Wales and Ireland.[3] The tournament featured two groups of three teams playing in a single round-robin format. The winners of each group qualified for the World Cup, while the runners-up faced each other in a play-off match on 5 November 2016 to determine the final spot. A seeded draw took place to determine the groups on 5 November 2015.

Key to colours in pool tables
Qualifies for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup
Qualifies for play-off match for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup
Fails to qualify for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup

Group A

Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
 Wales 2 2 0 0 70 14 +56 4
 Italy 2 1 0 1 76 34 +42 2
 Serbia 2 0 0 2 14 112 −98 0
Source:
15 October 2016Wales 50–0 SerbiaStebonheath Park, Llanelli
22 October 2016Serbia 14–62 ItalyMakiš Stadium, Belgrade
29 October 2016Italy 14–20 WalesStadio Brianteo, Monza

Group B

Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
 Ireland 2 2 0 0 116 22 +94 4
 Russia 2 1 0 1 56 76 −20 2
 Spain 2 0 0 2 12 86 −74 0
Source:
15 October 2016Russia 40–6 SpainFili Stadium, Moscow
22 October 2016Spain 6–46 IrelandPolideportivo Quatre Carrares, Valencia
29 October 2016Ireland 70–16 RussiaCarlisle Grounds, Bray

European play-off
Main article: 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualification (Europe play-off)
4 November 2016Italy 76–0 Russia Leigh Sports Village, Leigh, England

Asia-Pacific
Main article: 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualification (Asia-Pacific play-off)

Two additional qualifying places were initially allocated to this region. Papua New Guinea were granted automatic qualification in 2015 after being confirmed as co-hosts, leaving one additional team to qualify from this region. A single play-off between Tonga and Cook Islands determined the final qualifier.

17 October 2015Tonga 28–8 Cook IslandsCampbelltown Stadium, Campbelltown, Australia

Americas
Main article: 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualification – Americas

One team qualified from this region. A three-team round robin tournament was held in Florida in December 2015 to determine the qualifier.[4]

Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
 United States 2 2 0 0 54 38 +16 4
 Jamaica 2 0 1 1 32 38 −6 1
 Canada 2 0 1 1 42 52 −10 1
Source:
4 December 2015United States 20–14 JamaicaHodges Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida
8 December 2015Canada 18–18 JamaicaSpec Martin Stadium, DeLand, Florida
12 December 2015United States 34–24 CanadaHodges Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida

Middle East-Africa
Main article: 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualification (Middle East-Africa play-off)

One team qualified from this region. A two match series was held between South Africa and Lebanon to determine the qualifier.[5]

25 October 2015South Africa 12–40 LebanonBosman Stadium, Brakpan
31 October 2015South Africa 16–50 LebanonBosman Stadium, Brakpan

References
  1. "Qualification Details for 2017 Rugby League World Cup Announced". RLEF. 3 August 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014.
  2. Papua New Guinea to co-host Rugby League World Cup
  3. "European Qualifiers for World Cup 2017 Announced". Rugby League International Federation. 15 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  4. "Rugby League World Cup Qualifiers Awarded to Jacksonville & Deland, FL". Archived from the original on 16 August 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  5. "Venue changed for Middle East-Africa RLWC qualifier". Asia Pacific Rugby League Confederation. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
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