2015 Rugby World Cup – Americas qualification

In the Americas Region for 2015 Rugby World Cup qualifying, Argentina had automatically qualified for the World Cup, and two places were available in the Americas qualification process, which were taken by Canada and the United States. An additional Americas team, Uruguay, also qualified as the Play-off winner.

Format

2015 Rugby World Cup qualification process for Americas. NOTE: Round 3A should read 2013, not 2012.

The qualification process for the 2–3 teams from the Americas participating in the 2015 Rugby World Cup are as follows:^[1]

Round 1:

Round 1 was split into two sections, Round 1A and Round 1B.

• The 2012 NACRA Rugby Championship acted as the qualification matches for Round 1A. The Caribbean teams were split into two zones consisting of two rounds.

Round 1 consisted of the bottom five teams of the NACRA region, to the IRB rankings, playing each other in a robin-round format. The winning nations of either zone then advanced to Round 2 of their respective zones. The winning nations in either zone after Round 2, earned the right to compete for the NACRA Rugby Championship title, thus being able to advance to the Round 1 Final.

• The 2012 CONSUR B Rugby Championship acted as the qualification matches for Round 1B. The second division teams all played each other once, with the winning team of the tournament advancing to the Round 1 Final.
• The Round 1 Final saw the Caribbean champions and the CONSUR B champions play each other for the right to play in the Round 2 Final against the losing team of the CONSUR A tournament, or Round 2A.

Round 2:

• The 2012 CONSUR A Rugby Championship formed the qualification process for Round 2A. The top two teams of the tournament, remained in the division for the 2013 Championship. The bottom placed team, advanced to Round 2 Final to play the Round 1 Final victors. The winning side of Round 2 Final, earned the right to compete in the 2013 CONSUR A tournament, keeping their Rugby World Cup dreams alive.

Round 3:

Like Round 1, Round 3 was also split into two sections, Round 3A and Round 3B.

• Round 3A used the 2013 CONSUR A Rugby Championship as the qualification matches. The winning side would advance to the Round 3 Final and would play the losing side from Round 3B.
• Round 3B saw Canada and the United States play a two-match series in August 2013. The winner of the series qualified for the 2015 Rugby World Cup as Americas 1, and enters the tournament in Pool D. The losing team parachuted down to the Round 3 Final and would play the winning side from Round 3A.
• The Round 3 Final, would see the loser of Round 3B play a two-match series with the winning team from Round 3A. The winner of this two-match series, qualified for the Rugby World Cup as Americas 2. The losing side, would move to the Repechage and play in an inter-confederation match against the second placed team from the Asian qualification process.

Entrants

The 2015 Rugby World Cup qualifying teams that will compete for the 2015 Rugby World Cup – Americas qualification. (World rankings, shown in brackets, are to first Americas qualification match on 24 March 2012)

Qualified nations

•  Argentina (Automatic qualifier)
•  Canada (Americas 1)
•  Uruguay (Play-off winner)
•  United States (Americas 2)

Round 1

Round 1A: 2012 NACRA Rugby Championship

The 2012 NACRA Championship was the first qualifying event for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The tournament featured nine IRB members from the Caribbean and North and South America. Those teams, along with their IRB World Ranking and rating points as of March 19, 2012, were as follows:

Teams

•  Bermuda 48th, 45.94
•  Trinidad and Tobago 50th, 45.85
•  Guyana 59th, 42.54
•  Cayman Islands 67th, 41.23
•  Mexico 71st, 40.00* (new ranking)
•  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 76th, 39.30
•  Barbados 78th, 39.13
•  Jamaica 86th, 36.35
•  Bahamas 87th, 36.33

Zone 1

Round 1

The winning team, Cayman Islands, advanced to Zone 1 Round 2 to face Bahamas and Bermuda.

Advanced to Zone 1 Round 2

Place	Nation	Games				Points			Table points
		played	won	drawn	lost	for	against	difference
1	Cayman Islands	2	1	0	1	64	32	+32	6
2	Mexico	2	1	0	1	81	60	+21	5
3	Jamaica	2	1	0	1	33	86	-53	4

Matches

24 March 2012 15:30 CDT (UTC-05) Mexico  68–14  Jamaica Match stats La Ibero Santa Fe, Mexico City Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa) 7 April 2012 16:00 EST (UTC-05) Jamaica  19–18  Cayman Islands Match stats Utech Sports Field, Kingston Attendance: 150 Referee: Keith Hodgkins (Bermuda) 21 April 2012 16:00 EST (UTC-05) Cayman Islands  46–13  Mexico Match stats Truman Bodden Sports Complex, George Town Attendance: 1,400 Referee: Paul Bretz (United Stats)

Round 2

The winning team, Bermuda, advanced to the final of the 2012 NACRA Championship, or Round 1A final, to face Zone 2 winners Guyana.

Advanced to Round 1A Final

Place	Nation	Games				Points			Table points
		played	won	drawn	lost	for	against	difference
1	Bermuda	2	2	0	0	23	11	+12	8
2	Cayman Islands	2	1	0	1	30	14	+16	6
3	Bahamas	2	0	0	2	15	43	-28	0

Matches

19 May 2012 16:00 AST (UTC-04) Bermuda  7–3  Cayman Islands Match stats National Sports Center, Hamilton Referee: Andrew Hosie (Canada) 26 May 2012 16:00 EST (UTC-05) Cayman Islands  27–7  Bahamas Match stats Truman Bodden Stadium, George Town Attendance: 1,600 Referee: Tom Lyons (United Stats) 9 June 2012 16:00 EDT (UTC-04) Bahamas  8–16  Bermuda Match stats Winton Rugby Centre, Nassau Attendance: 400 Referee: Aruna Ranaweera (United Stats)

Zone 2

Round 1

The winning team, Barbados, advanced to Zone 2 Round 2 to face Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.

Advanced to Zone 2 Round 2

Place	Nation	Games				Points			Table points
		played	won	drawn	lost	for	against	difference
1	Barbados	2	2	0	0	85	3	+82	8
2	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	2	0	0	2	3	85	-82	0

Matches
7 April 2012 15:00 AST (UTC-04) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  3–34  Barbados Match stats Arnos Vale Cricket Stadium, Arnos Vale Referee: Alwyne Etwah (Guyana) 21 April 2012 16:00 AST (UTC-04) Barbados  51–0  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Match stats Garrison Savannah, Bridgetown Attendance: 200 Referee: Alasdair Robertson (Cayman Islands)

Round 2

The winning team, Guyana, advanced to the final of the 2012 NACRA Caribbean Championship, or Round 1A Final, to face Zone 1 winners Bermuda.

Advanced to Round 1A Final

Place	Nation	Games				Points			Table points
		played	won	drawn	lost	for	against	difference
1	Guyana	2	1	1	0	30	10	+20	6
2	Trinidad and Tobago	2	1	0	1	32	23	+9	4
3	Barbados	2	0	1	1	13	42	-29	2

Matches

5 May 2012 16:00 AST (UTC-04) Trinidad and Tobago  32–3  Barbados Match stats St Mary's College Ground, Port of Spain Attendance: 400 Referee: Pablo Septien (Mexico) 19 May 2012 16:00 AST (UTC-04) Barbados  10–10  Guyana Match stats Garrison Savannah, Bridgetown Attendance: 200 Referee: Bryan Arciero (Canada) 2 June 2012 16:00 AST (UTC-04) Guyana  20–0  Trinidad and Tobago Match stats Providence National Stadium, Georgetown Attendance: 400 Referee: George Nicholson (Barbados)

Round 1A Final: NACRA Rugby Championship Final

The winning team, Bermuda, advanced to the Round 1 Final to face the winner of the 2012 CONSUR B, or Round 1B victors, Paraguay.

Round 1B: 2012 CONSUR Rugby Championship B

The winning team, Paraguay, advanced to the Round 1 Final to face Bermuda, the winner of the 2012 NACRA Rugby Championship.

Advanced to Round 1 Final

Place	Nation	Games				Points			Table points
		played	won	drawn	lost	for	against	difference
1	Paraguay	3	3	0	0	196	28	+168	9
2	Colombia	3	2	0	1	92	66	+26	6
3	Venezuela	3	1	0	2	39	116	–77	3
4	Peru	3	0	0	3	29	146	–117	0

Number in brackets indicates the pre-tournament IRB ranking of team

Matches

9 September 2012 14:00 PYT (UTC-04) Paraguay  54–17  Colombia Match stats Estadio Arístides Pineda, Valencia, Venezuela Referee: Ricardo Sant'Anna (Brazil) 9 September 2012 16:00 PYT (UTC-04) Venezuela  28–17  Peru Match stats Estadio Arístides Pineda, Valencia, Venezuela Referee: Martín Lugo (Paraguay) 12 September 2012 14:00 PYT (UTC-04) Paraguay  69–3  Peru Match stats Estadio Arístides Pineda, Valencia, Venezuela Referee: Ricardo Sant'Anna (Brazil) 12 September 2012 16:00 PYT (UTC-04) Venezuela  3–26  Colombia Match stats Estadio Arístides Pineda, Valencia, Venezuela Referee: Matías Fresia (Argentina) 15 September 2012 14:00 PYT (UTC-04) Colombia  49–9  Peru Match stats Estadio Arístides Pineda, Valencia, Venezuela Referee: Jean Paul Casanova (Chile) 15 September 2012 16:00 PYT (UTC-04) Venezuela  8–73  Paraguay Match stats Estadio Arístides Pineda, Valencia, Venezuela Referee: Matías Fresia (Argentina)

Round 1 Final

The winner of 2012 NACRA Rugby Championship, Bermuda, played the winner of the 2012 CONSUR B tournament, Paraguay, in order to progress through to Round 2. Paraguay were the home team as they were the higher ranked team at 39 to Bermuda's 49.

Round 2

Round 2A: 2012 CONSUR Rugby Championship A

The top two teams remained in CONSUR A for the 2013 tournament (Round 3A), thus still being able to qualify for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The bottom placed team, Brazil, had to face a relegation challenge, Round 2 Final, from the CONSUR B champion, Paraguay, to earn to right to compete in the 2013 tournament and stay within the chance of qualifying for Rugby World Cup 2015.

Stays in contention of RWC place

Advances to Round 2 Final

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Difference	Pts
Uruguay	2	2	0	0	54	41	+13	6
Chile	2	1	0	1	45	33	+12	3
Brazil	2	0	0	2	21	46	-25	0

Matches
20 May 2012 18:00 CLT (UTC-04) Chile  19–6  Brazil Mahuida Parque Reina, Santiago 23 May 2012 18:00 CLT (UTC-04) Chile  26–27  Uruguay Mahuida Parque Reina, Santiago Referee: Matías Fresia (Argentina) 26 May 2012 18:00 CLT (UTC-04) Brazil  15–27  Uruguay Mahuida Parque Reina, Santiago Referee: Felipe Balbontin (Chile)

Round 2 Final: CONSUR A/B relegation playoff

Paraguay, the winner of Round 1, faced Brazil, the last placed team in the 2012 Consur A competition, or Round 2A, for the right to compete in the 2013 Consur A, or Round 3A, and remain within the chance of qualifying for the World Cup.

Being the higher ranked team, Brazil hosted the match in front of over 10,000 spectators in São Paulo, Brazil's biggest ever home crowd.^[2]

Round 3

Round 3A: 2013 CONSUR Rugby Championship A

Round 3A was contested concurrently with the 2013 South American Rugby Championship "A" in Montevideo, Uruguay and Temuco, Chile between 27 April and 4 May 2013.^[3] However, this tournament included already qualified nation Argentina, and therefore had no effect on who advanced to the NACRA-CONSUR playoff final. This means fixtures against Argentina by Brazil, Chile or Uruguay were not included as Rugby World Cup qualification matches. The winner of this qualifying round, Uruguay, advanced to the NACRA-CONSUR playoff final, to stay in contention for qualifying for the 2015 Rugby World Cup as Americas 2 or to progress to the Repechage qualifying.

Advanced to NACRA-CONSUR playoff final

Place	Nation	Games				Points			Table points
		played	won	drawn	lost	for	against	diff
1	Uruguay	2	2	0	0	81	16	+65	6
2	Chile	2	1	0	1	47	45	+2	3
3	Brazil	2	0	0	2	29	96	–67	0

Matches

27 April 2013 18:00 CLT (UTC-04) Chile  38–22  Brazil Match stats Estadio Municipal Germán Becker, Temuco, Chile Referee: Claudio Antonio (Argentina) 1 May 2013 15:45 UYT (UTC-03) Uruguay  58–7  Brazil Match stats Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo, Uruguay Referee: Juan Sylvestre (Argentina) 4 May 2013 15:45 UYT (UTC-03) Uruguay  23–9  Chile Match stats Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo, Uruguay Referee: Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)

Round 3B: United States v Canada Home & Away playoffs

Canada defeated the USA in a two-legged play off, sweeping the series and winning 40-20 on aggregate, thus qualifying for the World Cup as Americas 1. USA progressed to the NACRA-CONSUR playoff final against Uruguay.

Team details

FB 15 Chris Wyles RW 14 Takudzwa Ngwenya OC 13 Seamus Kelly  24' IC 12 Andrew Suniula LW 11 Blaine Scully FH 10 Toby L'Estrange  68' SH 9 Mike Petri  70' N8 8 Todd Clever (c) OF 7 Peter Dahl  37' BF 6 Scott LaValla  70' RL 5 Samu Manoa LL 4 Louis Stanfill TP 3 Eric Fry  60' HK 2 Chris Biller  70' LP 1 Shawn Pittman  70' Replacements: HK 16 Zach Fenoglio  70' PR 17 Titi Lamositele  70' PR 18 Phil Thiel  60' LK 19 Brian Doyle  37' N8 20 Cam Dolan  70' SH 21 Robbie Shaw  70' FH 22 Folau Niua  68' CE 23 Roland Suniula  24' Coach: Mike Tolkin FB 15 James Pritchard RW 14 Matt Evans  65' OC 13 Ciaran Hearn IC 12 Nick Blevins LW 11 DTH van der Merwe FH 10 Harry Jones  68' SH 9 Phil Mack  74' N8 8 Aaron Carpenter (c)  65' OF 7 John Moonlight BF 6 Tyler Ardron RL 5 Jamie Cudmore  40' LL 4 Jebb Sinclair TP 3 Jason Marshall  70' HK 2 Ryan Hamilton  40' LP 1 Andrew Tiedemann  57' Replacements: HK 16 Ray Barkwill  40' PR 17 Tom Dolezel  57' PR 18 Doug Wooldridge  70' LK 19 Tyler Hotson  40' FL 20 Nanyak Dala  65' SH 21 Sean White  74' FH 22 Nathan Hirayama  68' CE 23 Phil Mackenzie  65' Coach: Kieran Crowley Man of the Match: Phil Mack Touch judges: JP Doyle (England) Marius Mitrea (Italy) Television match official: Jim Yuille (Scotland)

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Team details

FB 15 James Pritchard  66' RW 14 Matt Evans OC 13 Ciaran Hearn IC 12 Nick Blevins LW 11 DTH van der Merwe FH 10 Harry Jones SH 9 Phil Mack  63' N8 8 Aaron Carpenter (c) OF 7 John Moonlight BF 6 Tyler Ardron RL 5 Tyler Hotson LL 4 Jebb Sinclair  55' TP 3 Jason Marshall  76' HK 2 Ray Barkwill LP 1 Andrew Tiedemann  40' Replacements: PR 16 Tom Dolezel  40' PR 17 Doug Wooldridge  76' HK 18 Aaron Flagg LK 19 Jon Phelan FL 20 Nanyak Dala 65' to 75'  55' SH 21 Sean White  63' FH 22 Nathan Hirayama  66' CE 23 Phil Mackenzie Coach: Kieran Crowley FB 15 Blaine Scully RW 14 Takudzwa Ngwenya OC 13 Chris Wyles IC 12 Andrew Suniula  60' LW 11 Luke Hume FH 10 Toby L'Estrange SH 9 Robbie Shaw  55' N8 8 Todd Clever (c) OF 7 Peter Dahl  67' BF 6 Scott LaValla RL 5 Brian Doyle LL 4 Louis Stanfill  55' TP 3 Eric Fry  50' HK 2 Chris Biller  66' LP 1 Shawn Pittman Replacements: HK 16 Zach Fenoglio  66' PR 17 Titi Lamositele  50' PR 18 Phil Thiel N8 19 Cam Dolan  55' LK 20 Derek Asbun  67' SH 21 Mike Petri  55' FH 22 Folau Niua  60' CE 23 Roland Suniula Coach: Mike Tolkin Touch judges: Leighton Hodges (Wales) Marius Mitrea (Italy) Television match official: Jim Yuille (Scotland)

Round 3 Final: NACRA-CONSUR playoff final

The losing team from Round 3B, United States, played the winner from Round 3A, Uruguay to determine who qualifies as Americas 2. The final consisted of a home-and-away series, with the winner on aggregate, United States (59–40 or 1–0), qualifying for the World Cup as Americas 2.

The loser, Uruguay, advanced to the repechage to play Asia 2, Hong Kong.

Team details

FB 15 Gastón Mieres RW 14 Leandro Leivas OC 13 Joaquín Prada IC 12 Andrés Vilaseca  55' LW 11 Jerónimo Etcheverry  63' FH 10 Felipe Berchesi SH 9 Agustín Ormaechea N8 8 Alejandro Nieto OF 7 Diego Magno 26' to 36' BF 6 Juan Manuel Gaminara RL 5 Santiago Vilaseca  55' LL 4 Mathias Palomeque  75' TP 3 Oscar Durán  40' HK 2 Arturo Avalo (c)  50' LP 1 Alejo Corral  56' Replacements: LK 16 Cristofer Soares De Lima  75' PR 17 Rodolfo De Mula  56' PR 18 Mario Sagario  40' HK 19 Nicolás Klappenbach  50' FL 20 Franco Lamanna  55' FL 21 Juan De Freitas  55' SH 22 Alejo Durán WG 23 Francisco Bulanti  63' Coach: Pablo Lemoine FB 15 Chris Wyles RW 14 Blaine Scully OC 13 Folau Niua IC 12 Andrew Suniula LW 11 Tim Maupin  40' FH 10 Toby L'Estrange  74' SH 9 Mike Petri N8 8 Cam Dolan OF 7 Scott LaValla BF 6 Todd Clever (c)  57' RL 5 Samu Manoa LL 4 Hayden Smith  50' TP 3 Eric Fry HK 2 Phil Thiel  74' LP 1 Olive Kilifi  63' Replacements: HK 16 Tom Coolican  74' PR 17 Nicholas Wallace 71' to 80'  63' PR 18 Titi Lamositele  72' FL 19 Louis Stanfill  50' FL 20 Kyle Sumsion  57'  72' FH 21 Shalom Suniula  74' CE 22 Seamus Kelly WG 23 Luke Hume  40' Coach: Mike Tolkin Touch judges: Ignacio Iparaguirre (Argentina) Carlos Poggie (Argentina) Television match official: Santiago Borsani (Argentina)

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Team details

FB 15 Chris Wyles RW 14 Blaine Scully OC 13 Seamus Kelly  78' IC 12 Andrew Suniula 16' to 26'  70' LW 11 Luke Hume FH 10 Toby L'Estrange  62' SH 9 Mike Petri N8 8 Cam Dolan  72' OF 7 Scott LaValla BF 6 Todd Clever (c)  22'  33' RL 5 Samu Manoa LL 4 Louis Stanfill  69' TP 3 Eric Fry  69' HK 2 Phil Thiel  74' LP 1 Olive Kilifi  19' Replacements: HK 16 Tom Coolican  74' PR 17 Nicholas Wallace 21' to 31'  19' PR 18 Titi Lamositele  22'  33'  69' LK 19 Tai Tuisamoa  69' FL 20 Kyle Sumsion  72' FH 21 Shalom Suniula  62' WG 22 Tim Maupin  70' CE 23 Folau Niua  78' Coach: Mike Tolkin FB 15 Gastón Mieres RW 14 Leandro Leivas OC 13 Joaquín Prada  59' IC 12 Andrés Vilaseca  9' LW 11 Jerónimo Etcheverry FH 10 Felipe Berchesi SH 9 Agustín Ormaechea N8 8 Alejandro Nieto OF 7 Diego Magno  21' BF 6 Juan Manuel Gaminara RL 5 Mathias Palomeque  46' LL 4 Santiago Vilaseca  70' TP 3 Oscar Durán  35' HK 2 Arturo Avalo (c) 34' to 44'  47' LP 1 Alejo Corral  40' Replacements: LK 16 Cristofer Soares De Lima  70' PR 17 Rodolfo De Mula  40' PR 18 Mario Sagario  35' HK 19 Carlos Pombo  39'  45'  47' FL 20 Franco Lamanna  46' FL 21 Juan De Freitas  21' SH 22 Alejo Durán  59' WG 23 Francisco Bulanti  9'  39'  45' Coach: Pablo Lemoine Touch judges: David Smortchevsky (Canada) Andrew McMaster (Canada) Television match official: Jim Yuille (Scotland)

References

External links

• Rugby World Cup Americas qualification