In the American Region for Rugby World Cup Qualifying, two teams, Canada and USA, qualified directly to the world cup and the third place, Uruguay, entered a playoff against the third place European team and the second place African and Asian teams. The qualification process started with regional qualification tournaments. First a Caribbean tournament in the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...

during April 2008, was won by

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. South America's Second Division 2008 South American Rugby (division B) was the next tournament to take place.

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

won on the final day in

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

. The two regional champions advanced to a playoff to decide who would face

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

in Round 3A. Brazil won both legs of the two-match series for the right to participate in the 2009 South American Rugby Championship A Division, which was won by Uruguay. Uruguay then faced the United States to determine the Americas 2 seed. On July 11, 2009, Canada claimed the Americas 1 seed, making them the first team to qualify for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The USA followed on November 21 to claim the Americas 2 seed, sending Uruguay to the playoffs for the final place. 18 teams participated in the qualifying process. For

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

there were 19. Changes in participation levels were due to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

earning a spot in the

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

tournament with their performance in

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...

not participating, and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

making their Rugby World Cup qualifying debut.

Round 1A (Caribbean Regional Tournament) - April 2008

The Caribbean Regional Championships held in the

was the first Qualifying event for the

Rugby World Cup 2011 The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

. The Tournament included the nine eligible IRB members from the Caribbean & Central America.

was competing in their first major international competition as one of the IRB's newest members. The Mexicans faced Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in a preliminary qualifying match to determine the final eight. The match was played at the

Arnos Vale Ground The Arnos Vale Stadium is a cricket ground in Arnos Vale, near Kingstown, St. Vincent. The multi-use ground – part of Arnos Vale Sports Complex – is situated next to and to the west of the Arnos Vale Playing Field. The stadium holds the cap ...

Kingstown Kingstown is the capital, chief port, and main commercial centre of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. With a population of 12,909 (2012), Kingstown is the most populous settlement in the country. It is the island's agricultural industry centre ...

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea wh ...

. In addition to determining a champion, the tournament played out each final position. The tournament was won by

who advanced to Round 2 of the qualifying process. The main tournament was hosted by the

, with all matches being played at

Truman Bodden Stadium Truman Bodden Sports Complex is a multi-use complex in George Town, Cayman Islands. It is named after Truman Bodden, a former Caymanian politician. The complex is separated into an outdoor, 6-lane 25-metre swimming pool, full purpose track and ...

in George Town. Attendance at this tournament varied throughout, but the maximum attendance was calculated at 1,395 during the final. Teams * * * * * * * * * (Team eliminated in the preliminary round)

Round 1B (South American Consur B Championships) - June 2008

This round is also the 2008 South American Rugby Championship B Division, a competition for second tier South American nations. The tournament was played at Colegio de San José in Asuncion,

in June 2008. The winners were

who beat hosts

on the final day. They advanced to Round 2 to face

and

were promoted to the Division A of the Consur.

Standings

Matches

Round 2 (Regional Champions Playoff)

This playoff was between the two regional champions of Round 1. The winner of the playoff progressed to join

and

in Round 3A. Brazil advanced by winning the series two matches to none.

Round 3A (South America Consur A Championships) - April/May 2009

This round was also the 2009 South American Rugby Championship A Division, a competition for first tier South American nations. The tournament was played in

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

(with the exception of the first match played in

Viña del Mar Viña del Mar (; meaning "Vineyard of the Sea") is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located within the Valparaíso Region, and it is Chile's fourth largest city w ...

) in April and May 2009. Paraguay participated in the tournament; however, their participation was limited to the Consur A Championship and their results had no bearing on Rugby World Cup qualifying.

, who defeated

and

, qualified for Round 4 to face the loser of Round 3B.

Standings

Round 3B (North American Qualification Playoff)

This round was a two legged playoff between the

USA 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The winner, Canada, qualified for

Pool A Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky pool ...

of the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

as Americas 1; the USA moved on to Round 4. Series drawn 1-1. Canada won on aggregate 47 - 30.

Round 4 (Final American Qualification Playoff)

This two-legged playoff between Uruguay, the winner of South American Qualification (Round 3A), and the USA, the loser of the North American Playoff (Round 3B) qualified the United States for

Pool C Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky pool ...

of the Rugby World Cup as Americas 2, while Uruguay advanced to the Final Place Playoff as Americas 3 to face

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

(the second place Asian team) in the semifinal. USA won the series 2–0 and 54–28 on aggregate.

Uruguay v USA

----

USA v Uruguay

External links

Confirmation of draw

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:World Cup

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

2008 in South American rugby union 2009 in South American rugby union 2008 in North American rugby union 2009 in North American rugby union

Round 1A (Caribbean Regional Tournament) - April 2008

Round 1B (South American Consur B Championships) - June 2008

Standings

Matches

Round 2 (Regional Champions Playoff)

Round 3A (South America Consur A Championships) - April/May 2009

Standings

Round 3B (North American Qualification Playoff)

Round 4 (Final American Qualification Playoff)

Uruguay v USA

USA v Uruguay

See also

External links

References