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Romania and Belgium picked up wins today in RWC 2019 Qualifiers. They did so by defeating Russia and Germany respectively. The results further the chances of Spain winning the Europe 1 spot and qualifying for RWC 2019 to play Japan in the opening match.
The feature match of the day was that of Romania vs Russia. A 25-15 victory from the Oaks sees the Eastern Europeans remaining in contention for the Europe 1 vacancy at RWC 2019.
In order to claim Europe 1 Romania must win their home match against Belgium next Saturday. Also playing on Saturday March 10 will be Russia who play at home to Georgia in a non-qualifying match.
Russia had a strong performance today against Romania. With 10 minutes left in the match the scores were tied at 15-15. Romania, though, went on to win 25-15. The final score saw the Oaks claiming four competition points but missing out on a bonus point.
Romania opened their account early through a penalty try. Further tries would come from Eugen Capatana, Paula Kinikinilau, and Stephen Shennan. Russia’s two tries in the match went to Sergey Sekisov and Ramil Gaisin.
Out of the running for RWC 2019 places were Belgium and Germany. Their match, though, was far from being a dead-rubber. To the contrary they needed points to avoid relegation.
The Pablo Lemoine coached Germany has ongoing issues. The extent of these were highlighted today as Belgium powered out to a 69-15 victory.
The remaining match in what is Europe’s Six Nations ‘A’ tournament saw Georgia at home to Spain. With Georgia having pre-qualified for RWC 2019 the fixture was not a RWC qualifier. Spain treated it this way to ensure they will be at full strength next weekend.
Despite being understrength Georgia were given a tough match. A tryless opening half saw the Lelos leading 9-3. In the second half both scored with Georgia going on to claim a 23-10 victory.
Upcoming European RWC Qualifiers
Europe 1 qualification matches resume next weekend. All eyes ought to be on Spain due to the realistic prospects Los Leones have of qualifying for RWC 2019 as Europe 1.
Spain will have home advantage against Germany on March 11. They are expected to pick up a comfortable win and do so with a bonus point. To guarantee themselves Europe 1 Spain will then need to also win against Belgium on March 18. A win without a bonus point will be sufficient.
The successful Europe 1 qualifier – Spain or Romania will open RWC 2019 against Japan. That team will be the fourth confirmed participant in Pool A. In addition to Japan the pool already has Ireland and Scotland. A Play-Off Winner will claim the final spot.
Nervous Times for Canada
These are certainly some very nervous times for Canada. The Europe 1 winner will advance directly to the RWC while Europe 2 will face Samoa in a winner-takes-all Play-Off.
Based on the North Americans RWC qualifying losses to Uruguay Canada is officially Americas 3 for qualifying purposes. The result sent Canada into repechage where the North Americans await three other countries. They will play against them in a special global repechage tournament in November.
The successful team from the repechage tournament will qualify for RWC 2019, entering Pool B. That qualifier will claim the 20th and final place at RWC 2019. The prize is pool matches against Italy, New Zealand, South Africa and Africa 1. The African qualifier is the be confirmed mid-year.
The runner-up from Africa will be Africa 2 and will join Canada in repechage. The two remaining positions are to be the Europe 2 / Oceania play-off loser and the winner of the Asia / Oceania play-off.
This means that the RWC regulars of Canada, Romania and Samoa are now competing for two spots between them. Spain’s qualification performances combined with Uruguay’s have radically altered the landscape.
Canada must simply be prepared like never before. November is do-or-die with not only a RWC spot on the line but also the daunting prospect of having funding significantly reduced.
Can Still Qualify
Officially there are 16 teams still in the running to qualify for RWC 2019. The complete list is Canada (Americas), Romania, Portugal, Russia, Spain (Europe), Samoa, Tahiti (Oceania), Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Korea (Asia), Kenya, Morocco, Namibia, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe (Africa).
