Start date 2008 | ||
Similar 1954 Rugby League, 1975 Rugby League, 1995 Rugby League, 2000 Rugby League, 2008 Rugby League | ||
2008 Rugby League World Cup qualifying matches took place from April 2006 to November 2007. Of the ten teams to compete in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, five of them qualified based on their performance in these matches. The other five teams had qualified automatically.
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Qualified teams
6 Asian-Pacific teams qualified for the World Cup; 3 qualified automatically, with the top 2 in the Pacific qualifying group also reaching the finals. Samoa finished third in the Pacific qualifying group and earned a qualification spot by winning the repechage. 4 European teams qualified for the World Cup. 2 qualified automatically, with a further 2 finals berths for the winner of each European qualifying group. No teams from the Atlantic qualifying group reached the finals, with the USA losing at the repechage semi-final stage.
Pool B
In early 2011 Ireland and Lebanon's two draws, which involved Ryan Tandy and Jai Ayoub, became subject to police investigation as the two had been connected to match-fixing.
Atlantic
Originally the USA, Japan, South Africa and West Indies were going to compete in a fourway tournament at Bernie Robbins Stadium, Atlantic City from 21–28 October. However the West Indies and South Africa withdrew and so a one-off match was played between Japan and the USA.