The 2002 Women's Rugby World Cup had the first and only qualification match, it was between Hong Kong and Japan, with the latter qualifying.
In 2008, the Rugby World Cup Limited Board chairman, Bernard Lapasset announced a global qualification process for the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup.
[1] However, not all member unions of the International Rugby Board were given an opportunity to qualify.
[2] The introduction of the repechage tournament in the 2017 World Cup qualifiers gave Hong Kong their first World Cup appearance.
Seven teams automatically qualified for the tournament, England, Canada, France, Ireland, New Zealand, USA and Australia.