The qualification process for the 2015 Rugby World Cup began during the pool stages of the 2011 tournament in New Zealand, during which the top three teams from each of the four pools were awarded automatic qualification for the 2015 event.
The tournament was held in England;[1] it began on 18 September 2015 and finished on 31 October.
12 teams received an automatic qualification berth by finishing in the top 3 positions of their respective pools.
The non-automatic qualification process began on 24 March 2012, by the end of which 80 teams had competed over 184 matches.
In all, 96 national teams have been involved in the 2015 World Cup - 12 as automatic qualifiers and 84 as entrants in the qualification rounds.