Twelve teams have already booked a spot at the 2023 World Cup in France, and here we take a look at the teams that are competing for the last 8 spots.
Over the next couple of years, teams from across the world will try to earn a place at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France via the regional qualification process. The likes of England, South Africa, New Zealand, Japan, Wales, France, Ireland, Scotland, Australia, Argentina, Italy, and Fiji have already booked their place at the tournament courtesy of the fact that they finished in the top three in their group at the 2019 World Cup.
Eight Places Still Up for Grabs
With the above twelve teams already qualified, it means that there are still eight coveted places up for grabs. These spots at the most prestigious rugby tournament in the world will be determined by a number of qualifying events throughout 2021 and 2022.
Out of the eight spots that remain, two are guaranteed to go teams from the Americas and Europe, while there is one spot apiece for teams from Africa, Oceania, and Asia/Pacific. The draw for the Rugby World Cup was carried out on the 14th of December, so the teams competing for the remaining spaces will know who they are trying to earn the right to play against in 2 years.
Changes to the Americas Qualification Process
The qualification process for teams from the Americas changed recently due to the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had. Instead of giving the Americas 1 slot to the team that wins the Americas Rugby Championship, there will be two play-off matches to determine qualification.
The two winners from the 2021 Sudamérica Rugby and Rugby Americas North will go up against each other over two legs to claim Americas 1. The losing team will then be put into an America's 2 play-off against the team that wins the play-off between the two teams that come second in the competitions we just mentioned above. The team that loses this match and misses out on Americas 2 will enter the qualification tournament.
The USA went to Japan in 2019 as Americas 1, which was the first time they had achieved that feat, while Uruguay too the Americas 2 position. Canada, which is usually the best team from North America, had to negotiate a repechage tournament to keep up their record of playing at every World Cup.
With Argentina already qualified and another three places up for grabs, a fifth of the teams at the 2023 Rugby World Cup could hail from the Americas. USA, Canada, and Uruguay will be the teams leading the charge once again, but the likes of Paraguay, Chile, and Colombia will be hoping to put themselves in the picture.
Not many will give the likes of Chile, Paraguay, and Colombia upsetting the apple cart high odds, but they have very passionate fans who will believe, and many will even put bets on their team to qualify for the 2023 World Cup, no matter what the odds are. If you are one such passionate fan, then you should take a look at the best tips to bet on rugby online to improve your chances of being successful.
Georgia Are the Ones to Beat in Europe
If they get there, the next Rugby World Cup will feel like a home event for the Georgia players as many of them play their rugby in France. The Lelos qualified for their first World Cup back in 2003 and have played at every World Cup since then. They finished third in their group in 2015, meaning that they qualified automatically for the 2019 edition, but a poor showing means that they now have to go against the likes of Romania, Russia, Portugal and Spain to claim one of the two European sports up for grabs.
Combined results from the 2021 and 2022 Rugby Europe Championship will determine the teams that fill these slots, while the team that comes third will get another chance at a qualification tournament that does not have a fixed date yet. Georgia have won ten of the last twelve Rugby Europe Championships and will be desperate to book their place at the 2023 tournament in France.
Georgia's Coach, Levan Maisashvili, will not allow his team to underestimate the task that lies in from of them, but it would be quite a shock if they did not make it through as Europe 1. As for the other guaranteed spot, it is much less clear cut. Portugal, under the coaching guidance of Patrice Lagisquet, a former French winger, are improving all of the time, while Spain have put in a series of impressive performances over the last few years to climb the rankings. Meanwhile, the likes of Romania and Russia are rebuilding under the leadership of Andy Robinson and Lyn Jones.
Pacific Rivals
Fiji needed the regional qualification process to get to the World Cup in 2019 as Oceania 1, but they managed to come third in their pool in Japan, so do not need to bother with a qualification process this time around. This means that Tonga and Samoa are the two teams that will be battling it out to take the Oceania 1 spot.
They will play two legs against each other, home and away, and the winning team will earn the Oceania 1 spot. The losing team will have to play three more games to claim the Oceania 2 spot. The first task will be a one-off match against the team that wins the Oceania Cup – this was won by Papua New Guinea in 2019. Whoever wins that match will play two legs against the winners of the Asia Rugby Championship – the current holders are Hong Kong.
From Africa
South Africa are the continent's best team by a country mile, but Namibia will be looking to remain the next best team and qualify as Africa 1. This slot will be given to the team that wins the Rugby Africa Cup in 2022, while the team that loses in the final will enter the qualification tournament. The Ivory Coast and Zimbabwe have played at the Rugby World Cup before, while Kenya came really close to making it to their first one in 2019.
