The
2017 Rugby League World Cup
The 2017 Rugby League World Cup was the fifteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup tournament and took place in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea between 27 October and 2 December 2017. The tournament featured the national teams ...
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. Fourteen teams took part in the qualifying process to fill the remaining seven spots.
Background
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. The eighth quarter-finalist, the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, were denied automatic qualification due to an internal governance dispute and instead forced to enter the qualification process.
Qualified teams
Americas
One team qualified from this region. A three-team round robin tournament was held in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
in December 2015 to determine the qualifier.
Asia-Pacific
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.
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
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
.
First round
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Second round
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Third round
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.
Group A
Group B
Fourth round
Middle East-Africa
One team qualified from this region. A two match series was held between South Africa and Lebanon to determine the qualifier.
References
{{2016 in rugby league
Qualifying, 2017 Rugby League World Cup
2015 in rugby league
2016 in rugby league