2003 Rugby World Cup – Oceania qualification

In qualification for the 2003 Rugby World Cup, a number of positions were available to Oceania nations. Fiji and Samoa qualified, joining automatic qualifiers Australia and New Zealand, while Tonga progressed to the repechage, where they faced South Korea.

Round 1

The six teams in the "Small Islands" group were divided into Western and Eastern pools, comprising three teams each. The teams in each pool played each other in a single round robin, with the top team in each pool qualifying for round 3.

Pool A (Eastern Zone)
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1  Cook Islands 2 2 0 0 114 8 +106 6
2  Tahiti 2 1 0 1 41 92 −51 4
3  Niue 2 0 0 2 14 69 −55 2
Source:
DateHome teamScoreAway teamVenue
2 June 2001 Cook Islands86–0[1] TahitiRarotonga, Cook Islands
9 June 2001 Niue8–28[2] Cook IslandsAlofi, Niue
16 June 2001 Tahiti41–6[3] NiuePapeete, Tahiti

Pool B (Western Zone)
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1  Papua New Guinea 2 2 0 0 64 20 +44 6
2  Solomon Islands 2 1 0 1 21 35 −14 4
3  Vanuatu 2 0 0 2 13 43 −30 2
Source:
DateHome teamScoreAway teamVenue
2 June 2001 Papua New Guinea32–10[4] Solomon IslandsPort Moresby, Papua New Guinea
9 June 2001 Vanuatu10–32[5] Papua New GuineaPort Vila, Vanuatu
16 June 2001 Solomon Islands11–3[6] VanuatuHoniara, Solomon Islands

Round 2

In Round 2, the traditional three biggest Pacific Island nations played a single round-robin tournament. The top two qualified directly for the Rugby World Cup as Oceania 1 and 2 respectively, while the bottom-placed team went to Round 4 of qualifying. Fiji finished top and qualified for Pool B as Oceania 1, while Samoa finished second and were placed in Pool C as Oceania 2.

Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1  Fiji 4 3 0 1 123 80 +43 10
2  Samoa 4 3 0 1 96 58 +38 10
3  Tonga 4 0 0 4 71 152 −81 4
Source:
DateHome teamScoreAway teamVenue
1 June 2002 Samoa16–17 FijiApia, Samoa
7 June 2002 Tonga22–47[7] FijiNukuʻalofa Tonga
15 June 2002 Tonga16–27[8] SamoaNukuʻalofa, Tonga
22 June 2002 Fiji12–22[9] SamoaSuva Fiji
28 June 2002 Samoa31–13[10] TongaApia, Samoa
6 July 2002 Fiji47–20[11] TongaSuva Fiji

Round 3

Round 3 saw the winners of the two pools in round 1 play home and away to qualify for round 4.

DateHome teamScoreAway teamVenue
19 October 2002 Papua New Guinea29–14[12] Cook IslandsPort Moresby, Papua New Guinea
26 October 2002 Cook Islands21–13[13] Papua New GuineaRarotonga, Cook Islands

Round 4

Round 4 saw Papua New Guinea, the winners from round 3, take on Tonga, the third-placed team from round 2. The winners would qualify for the repechage. Tonga won 131–26 on aggregate to progress.

DateHome teamScoreAway teamVenue
30 November 2002 Papua New Guinea14–47 TongaPort Moresby, Papua New Guinea
6 December 2002 Tonga84–12 Papua New GuineaNukuʻalofa, Tonga

References
  1. "Cook Islands v Tahiti at Raratonga". ESPN. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  2. "Niue Island v Cook Islands at Paliati". ESPN. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  3. "Niue Island v Tahiti at Papetee". ESPN. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  4. "Papua New Guinea v Solomon Islands at Port Moresby". ESPN. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  5. "Vanuatu v Papua New Guinea at Port Vila". ESPN. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  6. "Solomon Islands v Vanuatu at Honiara". ESPN. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  7. "Fiji vs Tonga – Match Statistics – Rugby World Cup Qualifier 2003". ESPN. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  8. "Tonga vs Samoa – Summary – Rugby World Cup Qualifier 2003". ESPN. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  9. "Fiji vs Samoa – Summary – Rugby World Cup Qualifier 2003". ESPN. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  10. "Samoa vs Tonga – Summary – Rugby World Cup Qualifier 2003". ESPN. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  11. "Fiji vs Tonga – Summary – Rugby World Cup Qualifier 2003". ESPN. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  12. "PNG grabs advantage". ESPN. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  13. "Cook Islands v Papua New Guinea". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
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