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South Korea defeated Malaysia in a RWC 2019 Qualifier on Saturday. The 35-10 victory sees South Korea greatly boosting their chances of advancing.
Early on in the contest there were memories of South Korea’s 115-5 win over Malaysia from 1986. Their strong start had them 21-0 up in quick time. Instead a greatly improved Malaysian performance saw them scoring points and also holding back the Koreans.
South Korea now turn their attention to Hong Kong. But before that match Malaysia will play host to Hong Kong next Saturday in round two of the Asian Championship. The Asian qualifiers will continue until June 02.
Europe 1, Europe 2
Meanwhile World Rugby is yet to determine the outcome of the Rugby Europe Championship. Having declared that the controversial Belgium vs Spain fixture ought to be replayed repeated delays now have an outcome likely for May 10.
Having time for Portugal to face the runner-up and then for Europe 2 to face Samoa is beyond complicated. Also requiring confirmation is whether Russia will be able to tour Canada and the USA in June.
Romania’s place as Europe 1 and Spain’s as Europe 2 (assuming they defeat Portugal) may remain though there are entirely plausible alternative possibilities. If Spain become Europe 1 then Russia would not be available to tour North America.
Canada and Repechage
Canada’s preparation for the global repechage tournament is an additional factor. Having lost against Uruguay in RWC qualifiers Canada were confirmed for repechage.
One of the additional competitors in repechage is to come from Africa. The runner-up of the upcoming Rugby Africa Gold Cup will join Canada.
The two remaining spots are to go to the Europe / Oceania play-off loser and the winner of the Asia / Oceania play-off. The Europe / Oceania play-off loser is to be Samoa or Europe 2 while the winner of the Asia / Oceania play-off will be the Asian winner of Hong Kong, Malaysia or South Korea vs the Cook Islands.
The Cook Islands qualified after Tahiti were disqualified from the qualifying process by World Rugby. They are to play the Asian country in a home-and-away series on June 30 and July 07.
The winner of the global repechage tournament will qualify for RWC 2019, entering Pool B. That pool contains Italy, New Zealand, South Africa and Africa 1.
Can Still Qualify
Officially there are 16 teams still in the running to qualify for RWC 2019. The complete list is Canada (Americas), Romania, Portugal, Russia, Spain (Europe), Cook Islands, Samoa, (Oceania), Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Korea (Asia), Kenya, Morocco, Namibia, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe (Africa).
