For the final round of the Rugby Union World Cup 1991 , which was held in England in October and November , the eight participants in the quarter-finals of the 1987 World Cup were automatically eligible to start. The remaining eight available places in the tournament were filled by the winners of regional qualifying tournaments.
The qualifying tournaments were divided into five continental groups. A total of 25 teams took part, 4 from Africa , 3 from America , 2 from Asia , 14 from Europe and 2 from Oceania .
Africa received a starting place for the finals through a qualifying tournament. In the group stages there were three points for a win, two for a draw and one for a loss; no bonus points were awarded.
Zimbabwe qualified as Africa 1 for the World Cup finals.
America
America got three starting places for the finals through a qualifying tournament. Since three teams have also registered, this tournament was used to decide the respective final places. In the group stages there were three points for a win, two for a draw and one for a loss; no bonus points were awarded.
Canada qualified as America 1 , Argentina as America 2 and the USA as America 3 for the World Cup finals.
Asia and Oceania
Oceania had three fixed starting places available for the finals. In addition, a fourth team had the opportunity to qualify through the entire qualifying tournament of Asia and Oceania. In the group stages there were three points for a win, two for a draw and one for a loss; no bonus points were awarded.
Western Samoa and Japan qualified as Asia and Oceania 1 and Asia and Oceania 2 for the World Cup finals.
Europe
Round 1
The first round was played in two independent tournaments. In Group A, the four teams each played once against each other in France. In the group stage there were three points for a win, two for a draw and one for a loss; no bonus points were awarded. In group B the winner was determined by direct elimination. The group winners played a playoff, the winner of which advanced to round 2.
In the second round, the winner of the first round met Belgium, Poland and Spain in a group competition in Spain. In the group stage there were three points for a win, two for a draw and one for a loss; no bonus points were awarded. The first two teams of this playoff advanced one round.
Spain and the Netherlands advanced into the third round.
Round 3
In the third round, the two qualified teams of the second round met Italy and Romania in a group competition in Italy. In the group stage there were three points for a win, two for a draw and one for a loss; no bonus points were awarded. The first two teams in this playoff qualify for the World Cup.
.svg){kind=small}
Zimbabwe
Tunisia
Morocco
Ivory Coast
Canada
Argentina
United States
Western Samoa
Japan
Tonga
South Korea
Sweden
Denmark
Switzerland
Israel
Czechoslovakia
.svg){kind=small}
Yugoslavia
BR Germany
Netherlands
Portugal
Spain
Poland
Belgium
Italy
Romania