2019 Rugby World Cup â€“ Oceania Qualification - World Cup Stream

Qualifying for the 2019 Rugby World Cup for Oceania Rugby began in June 2016.

Format

In addition to the two automatically qualified teams (Australia and New Zealand), Oceania have been allocated a further two direct berths in the tournament. A third and fourth team from Oceania could join the tournament through inter-confederation play-offs and the repechage.

Qualification is taking place in two independent streams. In the first, the top three nations of the Pacific-Oceania region, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, are competing for two direct qualifying berths in 2019. These matches are taking place across the 2016 and 2017 revamped World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup tournaments. The top two teams in this stream will gain qualification for Rugby World Cup 2019 as Oceania 1 and Oceania 2, with the third place team entering a home and away play-off against the winner of Europe's Round 5 qualification match. The winner on aggregate qualifies for Rugby World Cup 2019 as the Europe/Oceania play-off qualifier, whereas the loser will head to the world repechage.

In the second stream, the remaining entrants will compete for a position in the Asia/Oceania play-off for a repechage place. The winner of the 2017 Asian Rugby Championship (excluding Japan, who have qualified as hosts) will play a home and away play-off against the winner of the 2017 Oceania Rugby Cup, with the winner on aggregate advancing to the world repechage.