Highlander35
Steve Williams (59)
If both Aus and NZ got knocked out in the pools, what's our qualification pathway for 2027?
Neither team should finish below 3rd in any circumstance and would automatically qualify, and the WOBs would automatically qualify as hosts.
For theory crafting purposes, I'd imagine that if both NZ and Aus miss then the results from fixtures across the first two seasons of the RC would be taken as the qualifier for OCE 1.
Then, if Samoa finished 3rd ahead of Japan, the "loser" probably plays a double legged playoff against Tonga for OCE 2, and the loser of that match plays off against a qualifier team from the rest of the pacific for OCE 3. The loser of that would go onto the repêchage (either directly or via a qualifier against an Asian team).
If Samoa failed to qualify, it probably becomes a 4 team pool with Samoa, Tonga, the loser and the Qualifier, with top 3 qualifying.
Yes RWC qualifying is joke designed for the establishment teams to get through as comfortably as possible.