The road to Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand continues with the opening qualifying match in Africa on Sunday 11 May when Cameroon face Nigeria in Yaounde in a play off match that will kick off a two year qualification process in the region.
The winner of the match will progress to join Tunisia and Kenya in Pool 3 of the 2008 CAR Africa Cup, which kicks off on June 14 and also serves as the qualifying structure for Africa. On May 17 Botswana will host Swaziland in the play off for the second available Africa Cup place with the winner advancing to join Uganda and Madagascar in Pool 4 of the Africa Cup.
“Rugby World Cup 2011 Qualifying is now under way in earnest and the start of the process in Africa marks another exciting development on the road to New Zealand,” said Rugby World Cup Limited Chairman Bernard Lapasset.
“This weekend’s qualifying match marks the start of a new-look qualifier process in Africa that has been streamlined to incorporate the successful CAR Africa Cup. The winners of the two matches will compete in the 2008 Africa Cup with the winners of each pool then progressing to the semi finals, held next year. The final will be played in 2009 with the winner qualifying for Rugby World Cup 2011 as Africa 1,” added Lapasset.
The use of existing Tournament structures in Africa is a process that has been mirrored across the IRB’s five other regions (North America & West Indies, South America, Europe, Asia and Oceania) and incorporates successful competitions such as the European Nations Cup and the Asian Rugby Football Union Tournaments, including the Asian 5 Nations.
In terms of the regions, Europe and the Americas have been allocated two qualifying places, Africa, Asia and Oceania one place each, with the last place determined by a play off.
The IRB will be providing coverage of the Cameroon v Nigeria qualifier through the official IRB website - www.irb.com - including reaction and a match report.
