World Rugby News > 2011, Qualification
RWC 2011 qualifier weekend
Rugby World Cup 2011 qualifiers in North America and Oceania will affect the IRB World Rankings, to be published on Monday at 12 midday UK time.
USA take on Canada in the first leg of their RWC qualifier, knowing that the winner will qualify directly for RWC 2011. The match takes place in Charleston, USA. Canada will leapfrog Italy into 12th position in the IRB World Rankings should they record their fifth straight win over USA.
A USA win would not affect either team’s ranking position, but it would move the USA to within 0.25 ratings points of Georgia in 17th.
Ninth-ranked Fiji and 14th-placed Japan complete the ANZ Pacific Nations Cup in Suva on Friday. A Fiji win will not affect either side’s ranking, but should Japan defeat Fiji for the first time since 1994 they could move up to 13th, whilst Fiji will drop below Scotland to 10th.
Meanwhile in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea(PNG) and Cook Islands will contest the latest round of Oceania RWC 2011 qualifying, with the winner set to face Samoa. PNG, 53rd, lie just one place ahead of Cook Islands in the current rankings. Should they win, they will move up to 49th. A Cook Islands victory would see them jump five places to 48th, consigning PNG to 55th place.
