# 2011 Rugby World Cup – Africa qualification

In the African Regional qualifying process, 14 of the 15 eligible IRB member nations took part (South Africa had already qualified from Rugby World Cup 2007).
The qualifying process began with playoffs in May, 2008. The 2008–09 Africa Cup doubled as the qualifying tournament, with the winner being Africa's direct qualifier. The runner-up of the tournament will be entered into the four-team World Cup playoff for the 20th 2011 Rugby World Cup finalist berth.
The Cup was decided first by four pools of three teams with the pool winners qualifying for the semi-finals.
Namibia swept Tunisia in a two-legged final, qualifying for Pool D of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, while Tunisia advanced to the Final Place Playoff.

## Preliminary round: May 2008

Two single-legged playoffs were used to cut the nations down from the 14 eligible nations to the 12 who would compete for the 2008–09 Africa Cup. Preliminary round teams were the lowest ranked teams in the north and south respectively. Nigeria and Swaziland were eliminated in this round.

### Matches

| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date | Venue |
| Cameroon | 26 - 6 | Nigeria | 11 May 2008 | Yaoundé, Cameroon |
| Botswana | 25 - 7 | Eswatini | 17-May-2008 | Gaborone, Botswana |

## Round 1: June / August 2008

Pool winners qualified for the semi-finals. Pools were determined through world rankings.
Bonus point system:
* 4 points for a win
* 2 for a draw
* 0 for a loss
* 1 point for scoring four tries in a game
* 1 point for losing by seven points or less.

### Pool A

    Team Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Difference TB LB Points  Namibia 22004831+17109  Senegal 10011013-3011  Zimbabwe 10012135-14000

#### Matches

| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date | Venue |
| Senegal | 10 - 13 | Namibia | 14-June-2008 | Stade Leopold Senghor, Dakar |
| Namibia | 35 - 21 | Zimbabwe | 02-Aug-2008 | Hage Geingob Rugby Stadium, Windhoek |
| Zimbabwe | | Senegal | Cancelled | Harare, Zimbabwe |

### Pool B

    Team Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Difference TB LB Points  Ivory Coast 22005318+35109  Morocco 21013839-1105  Zambia 20022761-34000

#### Matches

| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date | Venue |
| Zambia | 18 - 29 | Morocco | 14-June-2008 | Showgrounds, Lusaka |
| Ivory Coast | 32 - 9 | Zambia | 12-July-2008 | Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan |
| Morocco | 9 - 21 | Ivory Coast | 02-Aug-2008 | COC Stadium, Casablanca |

### Pool C

    Team Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Difference TB LB Points  Tunisia 22006025+35109  Kenya 21019152+39105  Cameroon 20021892-74011

#### Matches

| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date | Venue |
| Cameroon | 10 - 16 | Tunisia | 14-June-2008 | Yaoundé, Cameroon |
| Kenya | 76 - 8 | Cameroon | 12-July-2008 | RFUEA Ground, Nairobi |
| Tunisia | 44 - 15 | Kenya | 02-Aug-2008 | Stade El Menzah, Tunis |

### Pool D

    Team Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Difference TB LB Points  Uganda 22005932+272010  Madagascar 21016747+20105  Botswana 20022572-47000

#### Matches

| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date | Venue |
| Botswana | 10 - 27 | Uganda | 14-June-2008 | Gaborone, Botswana |
| Madagascar | 45 - 15 | Botswana | 12-July-2008 | Stade Municipal de Mahamasina, Antananarivo |
| Uganda | 32 - 22 | Madagascar | 02-Aug-2008 | Kyodondo Rugby Club, Kampala |

## Round 2: semi-finals - 2009

| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date | Venue |
| Ivory Coast | 13 - 13 | Namibia | 14-June-2009 | Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan |
| Namibia | 54 - 14 | Ivory Coast | 27-June-2009 | Hage Geingob Rugby Stadium, Windhoek |
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date | Venue |
| Uganda | 17 - 41 | Tunisia | 13-June-2009 | Kyodondo Rugby Club, Kampala |
| Tunisia | 38 - 13 | Uganda | 27-June-2009 | Stade El Menzah, Tunis |
* Winners on aggregate progress to Round Three.

## Round 3: qualification final

Namibia and Tunisia competed for Africa's automatic place in the 2011 Rugby World Cup finals in New Zealand over two legs, with Namibia qualifying for their fourth consecutive world cup. Tunisia faced Romania, the third-placed team from Europe, in the semi-finals of the Play-off series.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date | Venue |
| Tunisia | 13 - 18 | Namibia | 14 Nov 2009 | Stade El Menzah, Tunis |
| Namibia | 22 - 10 | Tunisia | 28 Nov 2009 | Hage Geingob Rugby Stadium, Windhoek |
Namibia won the series 2–0, with an aggregate score of 40–23.