Qualifying for the 2019 Rugby World Cup for Oceania Rugby began in June 2016, where across 2 years, 3 teams competed for two direct qualification spots from Oceania. Two places were available to Oceania in a cross-regional play-off series' to qualify for the World Cup and or advance through the Repechage. Two teams from the Oceania region, New Zealand and Australia, qualified automatically for the 2019 World Cup by finishing in the top 12 in the 2015 World Cup. Fiji and Tonga qualified by finishing first and second (on aggregate) in the 2016 and 2017 Pacific Nations Cup competitions. Samoa advanced to the cross regional play-off where they would play a team from Europe for a place in the World Cup; the loser would move to the Repechage. Tahiti won the 2017 Oceania Rugby Cup to advance to the second cross regional play-off, but were disqualified in March 2018 after a World Rugby investigation found they had fielded two ineligible players in their match against the Cook Islands. The Cook Islands were then declared winner of the Oceania Rugby Cup and will advance to the regional playoff to play a team from Asia for a place in the Repechage.