2017 Rugby League World Cup qualification – Europe

The 2017 Rugby League World Cup Europe qualification is a rugby league tournament to be held in 2016 that will see three teams qualify for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.

Overview

On 3 October 2014, the 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifying competition was announced.^[1] Three European teams were granted automatic qualification, as they had reached the quarter-finals of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup; England, France and Scotland.

Ten teams were able to qualify for the qualification tournament, with the first being eliminated when Spain defeated Latvia on 9 May 2015.^[2]

Wales and Ireland were granted entry to the qualification tournament. Both teams already had a chance to qualify for the World Cup during the 2014 European Cup, but failed to do so.^[3] One of the other tournament places was allocated to the winner of the European Championship C tournament, and the other three were allocated to the top three teams from the European Championship B.

Italy, Russia and Serbia finished as the top three teams in the European Championship B, with Ukraine being eliminated.^[4]

Spain finished as the top team in the European Championship C, with Greece and Malta eliminated.

Teams

Qualified teams for final phase:

•  Wales were granted automatic entry as 1st seed
•  Ireland were granted automatic entry as 2nd seed
•  Serbia qualified as 3rd seed after finishing top of the Rugby League European Championship B.
•  Russia qualified as 4th seed after finishing 2nd in the Rugby League European Championship B.
•  Italy qualified as 5th seed after finishing 3rd in the Rugby League European Championship B.
•  Spain qualified as 6th seed after finishing top of the Rugby League European Championship C.

Final Tables

Key to colours in pool tables
	Qualifies for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup
	Qualifies for play-off match for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup
	Fails to qualify for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup

Group A

Team	Pld	W	D	L	TF	PF	PA	+/−	Pts
Wales	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	+0	0
Serbia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	+0	0
Italy	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	+0	0

Group B

Team	Pld	W	D	L	TF	PF	PA	+/−	Pts
Russia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	+0	0
Ireland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	+0	0
Spain	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	+0	0

Fixtures

Game 1

Match details

15 October 2016[5]

Wales	–	Serbia
Try:	-	Try:

Parc Stebonheath, Llanelli Referee/s: - Man of the Match: -

Game 2

Match details

15/16 October 2016[6]

Russia	–	Spain
Try:	-	Try:

Referee/s: - Man of the Match: -

Game 3

Match details

22/23 October 2016[6]

Serbia	–	Italy
Try:	-	Try:

Referee/s: - Man of the Match: -

Game 4

Match details

22/23 October 2016[6]

Spain	–	Ireland
Try:	-	Try:

Referee/s: - Man of the Match: -

Game 5

Match details

29/30 October 2016[6]

Italy	–	Wales
Try:	-	Try:

Referee/s: - Man of the Match: -

Game 6

Match details

29/30 October 2016[6]

Ireland	–	Russia
Try:	-	Try:

Referee/s: - Man of the Match: -

Qualifying play-off

The final qualifying place will be determined by a single knockout match to be held between the two group runners-up on 6 November 2016.

4 November 2016[6]

Group A runner-up	–	Group B runner-up
Try:	-	Try:

Leigh Sports Village, Leigh, England Referee/s: - Man of the Match: -

References

1. QUALIFICATION DETAILS FOR 2017 RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP ANNOUNCED, rlef.eu.com, 3 August 2014
2. Spain defeat Latvia to take first step towards RLWC2017, rlif.com, 10 May 2015
3. Extra incentive for Wales & Ireland this Euro Championship, rlif.com, 13 October 2014
4. Serbia claim a historic first-ever victory over Russia - 2017 World Cup qualifying, rlef.eu.com, 16 May 2015
5. "WALES TO TAKE ON SERBIA IN LLANELLI". walesrugbyleague.co.uk. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
6. "Draw for the Euro Zone Qualifiers for RLWC2017". rlif.com. Retrieved 5 November 2015.