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2023 Rugby World Cup – Europe qualification

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2023 Rugby World Cup – Europe qualification
Tournament details
Dates6 March 2021 – 20 March 2022
No. of nations6
Tournament statistics
Matches played27
2019
2027

The European qualification tournament for the 2023 Rugby World Cup was contested between March 2021 and March 2022. Six teams not already qualified via their performance at the 2019 Rugby World Cup competed for two direct qualification spots in the final tournament and for a place in the Final Qualification Tournament.

Format

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The Rugby Europe Championship, controlled by Rugby Europe, is the regional qualification tournament for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France. Each team play each other in a double-round-robin tournament over the two years, with the winners and runners-up of the two-year cycle qualifying for the World Cup as Europe 1 and Europe 2 respectively. The third placed team advances to the Final qualification tournament as Europe 3.

The qualification process did not include the remaining three divisions in the Rugby Europe system that are typically included across play-off matches due to the time scale restraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Entrants

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Six teams competed during the European qualifiers for the 2023 Rugby World Cup; teams World Rankings are prior to the first European qualification matches on 6 March.

Nation Rank Began play Qualifying status
 England 4 N/A Qualified with Top 12 finish at 2019 World Cup
 France 3 N/A Qualified as Hosts
 Georgia 12 6 March 2021 Qualified as Europe 1 on 10 March 2022
 Ireland 7 N/A Qualified with Top 12 finish at 2019 World Cup
 Italy 15 N/A Qualified with Top 12 finish at 2019 World Cup
 Netherlands 25 26 June 2021 Eliminated by Spain on 5 February 2022
 Portugal 20 6 March 2021 Advances to Final Qualification Tournament as Europe 3 via points deduction on 27 June 2022
 Romania 19 6 March 2021 Qualified as Europe 2 via points deduction on 27 June 2022
 Russia 21 6 March 2021 Disqualified from competition on 28 February 2022[1][2]
 Scotland 8 N/A Qualified with Top 12 finish at 2019 World Cup
 Spain 17 14 March 2021 Eliminated via points deduction on 27 June 2022
 Wales 5 N/A Qualified with Top 12 finish at 2019 World Cup

Rugby Europe Championship

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Table

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For the Rugby Europe Championship teams, results were considered on a 2-year aggregate from the 2021 and 2022 seasons; the winner and runner-up teams automatically qualified for the tournament as Europe 1 and Europe 2 individually, leaving the team in third place to qualify for the Final qualification tournament as Europe 3.

Following the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, Rugby Europe suspended all Russian games on home soil on 25 February 2022 before later suspending Russia at all levels with immediate effect on 1 March 2022. This later resulted in the cancelled games being declared a walkover and the opposition of Russia would be given 4 points.

Georgia were confirmed as Europe 1 following a walkover result against Russia whilst on 13 March, Spain had secured Europe 2 with a win over Portugal. However, on 28 March, it was announced Spain would be investigated for fielding an ineligible player, the South Africa-born Gavin Van Den Berg, in two World Cup qualifying matches against the Netherlands.[3] On 28 April 2022, an independent judicial committee determined that Spain did breach the regulation, and deducted 10 points from the table.[4] This resulted in Spain dropping out of the top three qualifying/play-off places meaning Romania qualified as Europe 2 and Portugal would proceed to the play-offs. Spain later appealed the decision, but the appeal was unsuccessful and the original decision was upheld.[5] This meant Romania qualified as Europe 2 and Portugal advanced to the play-offs as Europe 3.[6]

Qualified as Europe 1
Qualified as Europe 2
Advances to Final Qualification Tournament as Europe 3
Disqualified
Pos. Team Games Points Tries TBP LBP GS Table
points
Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Diff For Against Diff
1  Georgia 10 9 1 0 325 146 +179 47 14 +33 5 0 1 44[a]
2  Romania 10 6 0 4 289 232 +57 35 27 +8 2 2 0 28
3  Portugal 10 5 1 4 335 237 +98 44 31 +13 2 2 0 26[a]
4  Spain 10 6 0 4 334 244 +90 44 30 +14 3 2 0 19*
5  Russia 10 2 0 8 159 217 −58 18 27 −9 1 1 0 10
6  Netherlands 10 1 0 9 98 464 −366 13 72 −59 0 0 0 4[a]
Source - [7]
Points were awarded to the teams as follows:
Win – 4 points | Draw – 2 points | At least 3 more tries than opponent – 1 point | Loss within 7 points – 1 point | Completing a Grand Slam – 1 point
a Georgia, Portugal and Netherlands awarded 4 points for cancelled games against Russia[8][2]
* deducted points[9][10]

Fixtures

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2021

[edit]
6 March 2021
15:00 MSK (UTC+03)
Russia 18–13 Romania (1 BP)
Pen: Gaisin (6/7) 2', 24', 45', 57', 64', 72'Report
WR Report
Try: Antonescu 7' c
Con: Vlaicu (1/1) 8'
Pen: Vlaicu (2/2) 21', 76'
Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi
Attendance: 2,895
Referee: Shota Tevzadze (Georgia)

6 March 2021
15:00 WET (UTC+00)
Portugal 16–29 Georgia (1 BP)
Try: Marta 39' c
Con: Marques (1/1) 40'
Pen: Marques (3/3) 5', 14', 44'
Report
WR Report
Try: Modebadze 18' m
Bregvadze 29' m
Melikidze 50' c
Kharaishvili 66' m
Jalaghonia 80+5' c
Con: Matiashvili (2/5) 51', 80+6'
Estádio de Rugby Jamor, Lisbon
Attendance: 0
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)

13 March 2021
13:00 WET (UTC+00)
(1 BP) Portugal 27–28 Romania
Try: Antunes 10' c
Portela 34' c
Storti 66' c
Con: Marques (3/3) 11', 35', 67'
Pen: Marques (2/2) 17', 60'
Report
WR Report
Try: Savin 49' m
Onuțu 74' c
Cojocaru 79' c
Con: Melinte (2/2) 75', 80'
Pen: Vlaicu (3/4) 4', 21', 29'
Estádio de Rugby Jamor, Lisbon
Attendance: 30
Referee: Luc Ramos (France)

14 March 2021
12:45 CET (UTC+01)
(1 BP) Spain 19–25 Georgia
Try: Linklater 4' c
Con: Güemes (1/1) 4'
Pen: Güemes (2/2) 40', 47'
Linklater (2/2) 64', 69'
Report
WR Report
Try: Jalaghonia 3' c
Tabutsadze 48' m
Bregvadze 67' c
Con: Abzhandadze (2/3) 3', 68'
Pen: Abzhandadze (2/2) 14', 61'
Estadio Nacional Complutense, Madrid
Attendance: 0
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)

20 March 2021
13:00 KALT (UTC+02)
Russia 6–23 Georgia (1 BP)
Pen: Gaisin (2/3) 38', 48'Report
WR Report
Try: Tabutsadze 29' m
Abzhandadze 39' m
Niniashvili 60' c
Con: Abzhandadze (1/3) 61'
Pen: Abzhandadze (2/4) 3', 21'
Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad
Attendance: 9,564
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)

20 March 2021
15:00 EET (UTC+02)
Romania 22–16 Spain (1 BP)
Try: Căpățână 60' m
Melinte 79' m
Pen: Vlaicu (4/4) 25', 40', 47', 52'
Report
WR Report
Try: Rouet 42' c
Con: Ordas (1/1) 43'
Pen: Ordas (3/3) 8', 34', 77'
Stadionul Steaua II, Bucharest
Attendance: 50
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)

27 March 2021
16:00 WET (UTC+00)
Portugal 43–28 Spain
Try: Simões 28' c
Portela 39' c
Marta 47' c
Storti 59' c
Marques 77' c
Fernandes 80' m
Con: Marques (5/6) 29', 40', 48', 59', 79
Pen: Marques (1/2) 71'
Report
WR Report
Try: Pinto Ferrer 6' c
Rouet 16' c
Linklater 36' c
Ordas 80' c
Con: Ordas (4/4) 7', 17', 37', 80'
Estádio de Rugby Jamor, Lisbon
Attendance: 0
Referee: Ludovic Cayre (France)

28 March 2021
15:00 GET (UTC+04)
Georgia 28–17 Romania
Try: Penalty try 10'
Gigashvili 51'
Tabutsadze 70'
Con: Abzhandadze 52'
Pen: Abzhandadze 20', 40'
Drop: Babunashvili 80'
Report
WR Report
Try: Gorin 21'
Căpățână 61'
Con: Plai 22'
Vlaicu 62'
Pen: Vlaicu 44'
Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Paulo Duarte (Portugal)

26 June 2021
17:00 GET (UTC+04)
(1 BP) Georgia 48–15 Netherlands
Try: Niniashvili (3) 10' m, 72' c, 79' m
Tabutsadze (2) 25' m, 65' c
Lobzhanidze 37' m
Gogichashvili 54' c
Javakhia 60' c
Con: Abzhandadze (1/4) 55'
Babunashvili (3/4) 61', 66', 73'
Report
WR Report
Try: Hop 35' m
v. Dijk 75' c
Con: Wierenga (1/2) 76'
Pen: Rademaker (1/3) 16'
Caucasus Arena, Telavi
Attendance: 700
Referee: Alexandru Ionescu (Romania)

10 July 2021
15:00 CEST (UTC+02)
Netherlands 28–61 Portugal (1 BP)
Try: Wierenga 37' c
Campbell (2) 54' c, 84' c
Hop 65' c
Con: Weersma (4/4) 38', 54', 66', 85'
Report
WR Report
Try: Tadjer 2' c
Storti (5) 12' c, 14' c, 60' c, 75' c, 80' m
Marta (3) 37' m, 50' c, 67' c
Con: Marques (8/9) 9', 13', 15', 40', 51', 61', 68', 76'
NRCA Stadium, Amsterdam
Attendance: 1,600
Referee: Aled Evans (Wales)

17 July 2021
13:30 MSK (UTC+03)
Russia 26–49 Portugal
Try: Gresev 29' c
Silenko (2) 38' c, 59' m
Sychev 77' c
Con: Kushnarev (3/4) 30', 39', 77'
Report
WR Report
Try: Appleton 7' c
Granate 15' c
Lima 45' c
Simões 56' m
Penalty try 61'
Portela 67' c
Con: Marques (4/5) 8', 16', 46', 68'
Pen: Marques (3/3) 3', 32', 50'
Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod
Attendance: 5,500
Referee: Ben Blain (Scotland)

6 November 2021
15:00 CET (UTC+01)
Netherlands 8–35 Russia (1 BP)
Try: van der Avoird 58' c
Pen: Weersma (1/1) 42'
Report
WR Report
Try: Zhivatov 8' c
Brocas 28' c
Karzanov 43' c
Morozov 51' c
Ivanov 54' c
Con: Gaisin (5/5) 9', 29', 44', 52', 55'
NRCA Stadium, Amsterdam
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Keith Allen (Scotland)

13 November 2021
17:30 EET (UTC+02)
(1 BP) Romania 56–15 Netherlands
Try: Simionescu 10' c
Dumitru (3) 19' c, 48' c, 56' c
Cojocaru (2) 29' c, 43' c
Vaovasa 31' c
Bărdașu 80' c
Con: Melinte (8/8) 11', 20', 30', 32', 44', 49', 57', 80'
Report
WR Report
Try: Bloemen 25' c
van de Avoird 71' m
Con: van Oord (1/1) 26'
Pen: van Oord (1/1) 35'
Stadionul Arcul de Triumf, Bucharest
Attendance: 0
Referee: Peter Martin (Ireland)

14 November 2021
12:45 CET (UTC+01)
(1 BP) Spain 49–12 Russia
Try: Pinto Ferrer 7' c
Gimeno 23' c
Mora (2) 35' c, 44' c
Perrin 62' c
Losada 67' c
Aboitiz 73' c
Con: Güemes (4/4) 7', 23', 36', 45'
Ordas (3/3) 63', 68', 73'
Report
WR Report
Try: Uzonov 47' m
Kononov 65' c
Con: Golov (1/1) 65'
Estadio Nacional Complutense, Madrid
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Ben Breakspear (Wales)

18 December 2021
14:00 CET (UTC+01)
Netherlands 7–52 Spain (1 BP)
Try: van der Avoird 4' c
Con: Mistou (1/1) 5'
Report
WR Report
Try: Gimeno 17' c
Rouet 21' c
Bell (2) 31' c, 56' m
Pinto 54' c
Van der Berg 64' c
Minguillon 71' m
Jorba 78' c
Con: Rouet (5/6) 17', 21', 32', 55', 65'
Munilla (1/1) 79'
NRCA Stadium, Amsterdam
Attendance: 0
Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)

2022

[edit]
5 February 2022
14:30 EET (UTC+02)
Romania 34–25 Russia
Try: Cojocaru (2) 11' c, 25' c
Macovei 40' c
Rupanu 72' c
Con: Boldor (3/3) 11', 25', 40'
Plai 72'
Pen: Boldor (1/2) 38'
Plai (1/1) 72'
Report
WR Report
Try: Penalty try 6'
Parkhomenko (2) 62' c, 75' m
Con: Gaisin (1/2) 62'
Pen: Gaisin (2/3) 43', 47'
Stadionul Arcul de Triumf, Bucharest
Attendance: 2,700
Referee: Adam Leal (England)

5 February 2022
16:00 CET (UTC+01)
(1 BP) Spain 43–0 Netherlands
Try: Usárraga 10' c
López 23' c
Jorba 38' m
Gimeno 44' c
Ordas 56' m
Minguillon 65' m
Ovejero 71' c
Con: Ordas (3/6) 11', 24', 45'
Bélie (1/1) 72'
Report
WR Report
Estadio Nacional Complutense, Madrid
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)

6 February 2022
15:00 GET (UTC+04)
Georgia 25–25 Portugal
Try: Tabutsadze 29' c
Kerdikoshvili 40' m
Jalaghonia 64' c
Con: Abzhandadze (2/3) 30', 64'
Pen: Abzhandadze (2/2) 26', 46'
Report
WR Report
Try: Cardoso Pinto 36' m
Marta 50' c
Lima 58' c
Con: Marques (2/3) 52', 59'
Pen: Marques (2/2) 10', 28'
Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Romain Poite (France)

12 February 2022
13:00 MSK (UTC+03)
(1 BP) Russia 37–41 Spain
Try: Gresev 30' c
Ryabishchuk 33' c
Davydov 61' c
Zhivatov 76' c
Con: Gaisin (4/4) 30', 34', 62', 77'
Pen: Gaisin (3/3) 9', 42', 66'
Report
WR Report
Try: Gimeno 3' c
Minguillon (2) 16' m, 36' m
Pinto 40' m
Ovejero 80' c
Con: Ordas (2/5) 3', 80'
Pen: Ordas (4/4) 27', 59', 65', 71'
Slava Metreveli Central Stadium, Sochi
Attendance: 0
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)

12 February 2022
13:15 CET (UTC+01)
Netherlands 10–72 Georgia (1 BP)
Try: Danen 49' c
Con: Weersma (1/1) 50'
Pen: Weersma (1/1) 17'
Report
WR Report
Try: Giorgadze (3) 8' m, 46' c, 59' c
Tabutsadze (2) 14' m, 38' m
Japaridze 24' c
Lobzhanidze (2) 28' c, 53' c
Jalaghonia 52' c
Modebadze 66' m
Chkoidze (2) 76' m, 82' m
Con: Abzhandadze (6/12) 25', 29', 47', 53', 54', 60'
NRCA Stadium, Amsterdam
Attendance: 900
Referee: Ludovic Cayre (France)

12 February 2022
17:30 EET (UTC+02)
Romania 37–27 Portugal
Try: Ser 40' c
Cojocaru 54' c
Savin 67' c
Gorin 80' c
Con: Melinte (3/3) 41', 55', 67'
Plai (1/1) 80'
Pen: Melinte (3/3) 5', 36', 75'
Report
WR Report
Try: Lima 24' m
Marta 31' c
Pinto (2) 37' c, 49' m
Con: Marques (2/4) 33', 39'
Pen: Marques (1/1) 28'
Stadionul Arcul de Triumf, Bucharest
Attendance: 2,700
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)

26 February 2022
15:00 WET (UTC+00)
(1 BP) Portugal 59–3 Netherlands
Try: Belo 14' c
Diniz 22' m
Bettencourt (2) 30' c, 63' c
Simões (2) 38' c, 43' m
Marta 47' c
Storti 54' c
Antunes 76'
Con: Antunes (7/9) 15', 31', 39', 48', 55', 64', 77'
Report
WR Report
Pen: Te Hauora Campbell (1/1) 1'
Campo de Rugby Complexo Desportivo, Caldas da Rainha
Attendance: 2,500
Referee: Federico Vedovelli (Italy)

27 February 2022
12:45 CET (UTC+01)
Spain 38–21 Romania
Try: Marco Pinto 6' c
Foulds 10' c
Quercy (2) 19' c, 59' c
Gimeno 27' c
Con: Ordas (5/5) 7', 11', 20', 27', 60'
Pen: Ordas (1/1) 55'
Report
WR Report
Try: Hinckley Vaovasa (2) 16' c, 65' c
Marius Simionescu 70' c
Con: Plai (3/3) 17', 66', 71'
Estadio Nacional Complutense, Madrid
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)

N/A
N/A
Georgia Cancelled[11] Russia
WR Report
N/A
Attendance: N/A
Referee: N/A
  • Georgia awarded 4 points.

N/A
N/A
Russia Cancelled[11] Netherlands
WR Report
N/A
Attendance: N/A
Referee: N/A
  • Netherlands awarded 4 points.

12 March 2022
17:30 EET (UTC+02)
(1 BP) Romania 23–26 Georgia
Try: Cojocaru 7' m
Bărdașu 73' c
Con: Melinte (2/2) 39', 73'
Pen: Melinte (3/4) 17', 21', 43'
Rerport
WR Report
Try: Lobzhanidze 9' c
Sharikadze 28' c
Todua 34' c
Tabutsadze 70' m
Con: Abzhandadze (3/4) 10', 28', 34'
Stadionul Arcul de Triumf, Bucharest
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: Ben Breakspear (Wales)

13 March 2022
12:45 CET (UTC+01)
Spain 33–28 Portugal (1 BP)
Try: Zabala 7' m
Quercy (2) 17' c, 25' c
Pinto 38' m
Con: Ordas (2/4) 18', 26'
Pen: Ordas (3/3) 44', 51', 58'
Report
WR Report
Try: Bento 10' c
Bettencourt 32' c
Madeira 79' m
Con: Marques (2/2) 11', 33'
Pen: Marques (3/3) 6', 46', 54'
Estadio Nacional Complutense, Madrid
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: Tual Trainini (France)

19 March 2022
13:00 CET (UTC+01)
Netherlands 12–38 Romania (1 BP)
Try: Weersma 34' m
Raymond 40' c
Con: Weersma (1/2) 40'
Report
WR Report
Try: Rupanu 3' c
Vaovasa 14' c
Dumitru 17' c
Cojocaru 28' m
Bucur 71' m
Macovei 77' c
Con: Melinte (4/6) 3', 15', 17'm 77'
NRCA Stadium, Amsterdam
Attendance: 1,200
Referee: Ben Blain (Scotland)

N/A
N/A
Portugal Cancelled[11] Russia
WR Report
N/A
Attendance: N/A
Referee: N/A

Portugal awarded 4 points.


20 March 2022
18:00 GET (UTC+04)
(1 BP) Georgia 49–15 Spain
Try: Tabutsadze (2) 27' c, 68' c
Giorgadze (2) 34' m, 73' c
Sharikadze 62' c
Chkoidze 80' c
Con: Abzhandadze (5/6) 28', 63', 69', 74', 80'
Pen: Abzhandadze (2/3) 15', 54'
Drop: Lobzhanidze (1/1) 3'
Report
WR Report
Try: Jorba 24' m
Ovejero 49' c
Con: Ordas (1/2) 51'
Pen: Ordas (1/2) 8'
Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi
Attendance: 11,000
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "World Rugby confirms sporting sanctions for Russia and Belarus". World Rugby. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Georgia Qualify for Rugby World Cup 2023". World Rugby. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  3. ^ Statement - Spain Eligibility Case
  4. ^ "World Rugby (WR) versus Federación Española de Rugby (FER) & Gavin Van Den Berg (220505 Judicial Committee Decision Regulation 8 Breach) In the Matter of Alleged Breaches of World Rugby Regulation 8 and the World Rugby Code of Conduct and the Rugby World Cup 2023 Qualification Process Terms of Participation (RWCQ TOP)" (PDF). Judicial Committee World Rugby. 5 May 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 May 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  5. ^ "In the Matter of an Appeal Brought by Federación Española de Rugby against the Decision of the Judicial Committee Dated 5 May 2022 for Breaches of World Rugby Regulation 8 and the World Rugby Code of Conduct and the Rugby World Cup 2023 Qualification Process Terms of Participation" (PDF). Appeals Committee World Rugby. 27 June 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Independent Appeal Committee decision regarding Spain player eligibility". World Rugby. 27 June 2022. Archived from the original on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Rugby World Cup 2023 Qualifier".
  8. ^ "Rugby Europe International Championships 2018-2019 Manual" (PDF). Rugby Europe. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 January 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  9. ^ INDEPENDENT JUDICIAL COMMITTEE DECISION: RUGBY WORLD CUP 2023 EUROPEAN QUALIFYING
  10. ^ Independent Appeal Committee decision regarding Spain player eligibility
  11. ^ a b c World Rugby confirms sporting sanctions for Russia and Belarus
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