# 2003 Rugby World Cup – European qualification

There were a number of positions open to European nations to qualify for the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia. Ireland, Romania, Georgia and Italy, joining a number of other nations that automatically qualified.

## Round 1 (2000–2001)

The 18 teams that entered qualification at this stage were divided into three pools of six teams each. The winners of each pool and the best runner-up advanced to the second round of qualifying.

### Pool A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | +/− | Pts |
| 1 | Sweden | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | +208 | 15 |
| 2 | Latvia | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | +79 | 13 |
| 3 | Austria | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | +78 | 11 |
| 4 | Israel | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | +51 | 9 |
| 5 | Luxembourg | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | −222 | 7 |
| 6 | Norway | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | −194 | 5 |
| Date | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue |
| 23 September 2000 | Norway | 9–41 | Luxembourg | Stavanger, Norway |
| 21 October 2000 | Austria | 10–42 | Sweden | Vienna, Austria |
| 28 October 2000 | Latvia | 24–19 | Luxembourg | Riga, Latvia |
| 28 October 2000 | Sweden | 44–3 | Norway | Korsangens, Sweden |
| 11 November 2000 | Latvia | 38–12 | Austria | Riga, Latvia |
| 3 March 2001 | Luxembourg | 3–62 | Israel | Luxembourg |
| 17 March 2001 | Israel | 3–21 | Latvia | Israel |
| 5 May 2001 | Israel | 43–3 | Norway | Israel |
| 5 May 2001 | Luxembourg | 3–116 | Sweden | Cessange, Luxembourg |
| 12 May 2001 | Austria | 77–0 | Luxembourg | Vienna, Austria |
| 19 May 2001 | Latvia | 37–0 | Norway | Riga, Latvia |
| 19 May 2001 | Sweden | 35–20 | Israel | Växjö, Sweden |
| 2 June 2001 | Austria | 21–6 | Israel | Vienna, Austria |
| 9 June 2001 | Norway | 7–51 | Austria | Borrebanen, Norway |
| 9 June 2001 | Sweden | 17–10 | Latvia | Korsangens, Sweden |

### Pool B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | +/− | Pts |
| 1 | Switzerland | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | +166 | 13 |
| 2 | Yugoslavia | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | +45 | 11 |
| 3 | Andorra | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | +43 | 11 |
| 4 | Hungary | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | −9 | 9 |
| 5 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | −58 | 9 |
| 6 | Bulgaria | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | −187 | 7 |
| Date | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue |
| 30 September 2000 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 13–12 | Hungary | Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 7 October 2000 | Switzerland | 43–6 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Geneva, Switzerland |
| 14 October 2000 | Bulgaria | 9–90 | Switzerland | Pernik, Bulgaria |
| 14 October 2000 | Andorra | 12–9 | Yugoslavia | Andorra la Vella, Andorra |
| 28 October 2000 | Hungary | 27–21 | Andorra | Százhalombatta, Hungary |
| 5 November 2000 | Yugoslavia | 46–6 | Bulgaria | Dimitrovgrad, Yugoslavia |
| 31 March 2001 | Yugoslavia | 25–10 | Hungary | Dimitrovgrad, Yugoslavia |
| 5 May 2001 | Switzerland | 38–25 | Andorra | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| 5 May 2001 | Bulgaria | 30–8 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | |
| 12 May 2001 | Andorra | 59–10 | Bulgaria | Andorra la Vella, Andorra |
| 12 May 2001 | Switzerland | 61–23 | Hungary | Basel, Switzerland |
| 12 May 2001 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 23–13 | Yugoslavia | |
| 25 May 2001 | Yugoslavia | 13–10 | Switzerland | Gornji, Yugoslavia |
| 25 May 2001 | Andorra | 23–13 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Andorra la Vella, Andorra |
| 25 May 2001 | Hungary | 46–7 | Bulgaria | |

### Pool C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | +/− | Pts |
| 1 | Belgium | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | +71 | 15 |
| 2 | Slovenia | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | +46 | 12 |
| 3 | Moldova | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | +25 | 11 |
| 4 | Lithuania | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | +38 | 10 |
| 5 | Monaco | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | −30 | 7 |
| 6 | Malta | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | −150 | 5 |
| Date | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue |
| 28 October 2000 | Monaco | 15–17 | Moldova | Menton, France |
| 28 October 2000 | Belgium | 24–10 | Slovenia | King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium |
| 18 November 2000 | Slovenia | 19–19 | Lithuania | Ljubljana, Slovenia |
| 18 November 2000 | Moldova | 58–8 | Malta | Bender, Moldova |
| 25 November 2000 | Malta | 0–26 | Belgium | Three Cities, Malta |
| 2 December 2000 | Monaco | 8–13 | Slovenia | Menton, France |
| 20 January 2001 | Malta | 3–9 | Monaco | Three Cities, Malta |
| 3 March 2001 | Monaco | 12–18 | Belgium | Saint-Laurent-du-Var, France |
| 7 April 2001 | Belgium | 26–10 | Moldova | Brussels, Belgium |
| 21 April 2001 | Malta | 11–39 | Lithuania | Three Cities, Malta |
| 28 April 2001 | Slovenia | 30–15 | Moldova | Ljubljana, Slovenia |
| 5 May 2001 | Belgium | 29–20 | Lithuania | Laakdal, Belgium |
| 12 May 2001 | Slovenia | 45–5 | Malta | Ljubljana, Slovenia |
| 12 May 2001 | Lithuania | 33–10 | Monaco | Vilnius, Lithuania |
| 2 June 2001 | Moldova | 20–16 | Lithuania | Chișinău, Moldova |

## Round 2 (2001–2002)

The four teams that qualified from Round 1 were joined by the six teams from the European Nations Cup Second Division. They were divided into two pools of five teams each. Each pool was played as a single round-robin tournament, and the winner of each pool advanced to Round 3.

### Pool A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | +/− | Pts |
| 1 | Poland | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | +69 | 12 |
| 2 | Germany | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | +24 | 8 |
| 3 | Sweden | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | +23 | 8 |
| 4 | Denmark | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | +19 | 8 |
| 5 | Latvia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | −135 | 4 |
| Date | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue |
| 22 September 2001 | Latvia | 18–60 | Poland | Riga, Latvia |
| 29 September 2001 | Poland | 18–6 | Sweden | Gdańsk, Poland |
| 7 October 2001 | Sweden | 37–12 | Latvia | Trelleborg, Sweden |
| 20 October 2001 | Sweden | 32–10 | Germany | Malmö, Sweden |
| 27 October 2001 | Denmark | 33–21 | Sweden | Frederiksberg, Denmark |
| 3 November 2001 | Denmark | 19–26 | Poland | Copenhagen, Denmark |
| 10 November 2001 | Germany | 34–24 | Denmark | Heidelberg, Germany |
| 24 November 2001 | Germany | 44–0 | Latvia | Hanover, Germany |
| 6 April 2002 | Poland | 20–12 | Germany | Gdynia, Poland |
| 6 April 2002 | Latvia | 8–32 | Denmark | Riga, Latvia |

### Pool B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | +/− | Pts |
| 1 | Czech Republic | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | +95 | 12 |
| 2 | Ukraine | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | +46 | 10 |
| 3 | Croatia | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −14 | 8 |
| 4 | Switzerland | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | −40 | 6 |
| 5 | Belgium | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | −87 | 4 |
| Date | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue |
| 22 September 2001 | Czech Republic | 46–3 | Belgium | Prague, Czech Republic |
| 6 October 2001 | Switzerland | 6–32 | Czech Republic | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| 13 October 2001 | Croatia | 5–13 | Czech Republic | Makarska, Croatia |
| 13 October 2001 | Ukraine | 21–10 | Belgium | Kyiv, Ukraine |
| 20 October 2001 | Ukraine | 41–7 | Croatia | Kyiv, Ukraine |
| 27 October 2001 | Belgium | 15–22 | Switzerland | Brussels, Belgium |
| 3 November 2001 | Czech Republic | 26–8 | Ukraine | Prague, Czech Republic |
| 10 November 2001 | Croatia | 18–16 | Switzerland | Makarska, Croatia |
| 24 November 2001 | Belgium | 0–26 | Croatia | Brussels, Belgium |
| 24 November 2001 | Switzerland | 11–30 | Ukraine | Hermance, Switzerland |

## Round 3 (May–June 2002)

The two teams that advanced from Round 2 were joined by the four lowest-ranked teams from the 2000–01 European Nations Cup First Division. The six teams were divided into two pools of three teams each, again played as a single round-robin, with the winners of each pool advancing to Round 4.

### Pool A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | +/− | Pts |
| 1 | Spain | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 4 |
| 2 | Portugal | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | Poland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 4 |
| Date | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue |
| 4 May 2002 | Poland | 27–15 | Spain | Warsaw, Poland |
| 18 May 2002 | Portugal | 39–26 | Poland | Jamor, Portugal |
| 2 June 2002 | Spain | 34–21 | Portugal | Madrid, Spain |

### Pool B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | +/− | Pts |
| 1 | Russia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | +81 | 6 |
| 2 | Czech Republic | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +23 | 4 |
| 3 | Netherlands | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | −104 | 2 |
| Date | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue |
| 5 May 2002 | Czech Republic | 18–37 | Russia | Prague, Czech Republic |
| 21 May 2002 | Netherlands | 12–54 | Czech Republic | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| 1 June 2002 | Russia | 65–3 | Netherlands | Monino, Russia |

## Round 4 (September–October 2002)

In Round 4, the two teams that advanced from Round 3 were joined by the two remaining teams from the 2000–01 European Nations Cup First Division, as well as Ireland and Italy. The six teams were divided into two pools of three teams each, which were again played as a single round-robin. The top two teams from each pool qualified directly for the Rugby World Cup, while the bottom team from each pool advanced to Round 5.

### Pool A

Italy qualified for the Rugby World Cup as Europe 2 and were placed in Pool D, while Romania qualified as Europe 3 and were placed in Pool A.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | +/− | Pts |
| 1 | Italy | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | +55 | 6 |
| 2 | Romania | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +53 | 4 |
| 3 | Spain | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | −108 | 2 |
| Date | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue |
| 22 September 2002 | Spain | 3–50 | Italy | Valladolid, Spain |
| 28 September 2002 | Italy | 25–17 | Romania | Parma, Italy |
| 5 October 2002 | Romania | 67–6 | Spain | Iași, Romania |

### Pool B

Ireland qualified for the Rugby World Cup as Europe 1 and were placed in Pool A, while Georgia qualified as Europe 4 and were placed in Pool C.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | +/− | Pts |
| 1 | Ireland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | +81 | 6 |
| 2 | Georgia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −45 | 4 |
| 3 | Russia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | −36 | 2 |
| Date | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue |
| 21 September 2002 | Russia | 3–35 | Ireland | Krasnoyarsk, Russia |
| 28 September 2002 | Ireland | 63–14 | Georgia | Dublin, Ireland |
| 13 October 2002 | Georgia | 17–13 | Russia | Tbilisi, Georgia |

## Round 5 (October–November 2002)

The two teams that advanced from Round 4 played a two-legged tie. The winners advanced to the repechage.
| Date | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue |
| 27 October 2002 | Spain | 3–36 | Russia | Madrid, Spain |
| 24 November 2002 | Russia | 22–38 | Spain | Krasnodar, Russia |
Russia won 58–41 on aggregate. However, after it was determined they used ineligible South African players, they were ejected from the competition and Spain advanced to Repechage.