Qualification for the 2019 Rugby World Cup kicks off today when St Vincent and the Grenadines host Jamaica, with the man in the middle the referee who took charge of the 2105 final between New Zealand and Australia.

Although the 2019 opening ceremony is still more than 40 months away, the tournament itself begins in earnest this month with qualification for Japan 2019 split into regional tournaments with eight places ultimately up for grabs alongside the giants of the world game.

New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Argentina, Ireland, Scotland, France, Wales, Georgia, Japan, England and Italy have already qualified as a result of their performances in England last year, but who will join them will be decided across six continents, through a qualification process featuring around 200 matches.

In total, the Rugby World Cup now includes more than 90 nations, including the emerging rugby markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China as well as the United States and Mexico.

"The qualifying teams did themselves proud at Rugby World Cup 2015 and we are committed to improving further the competitiveness of the qualifier process off the back of that success,” said World Rugby chairman Bernard Lapasset. "This qualifying structure gives opportunities to all full member unions to play in a competitive global World Rugby tournament and create a benchmark for them within the context of the World Rugby rankings. In the process, we are also bringing rugby to new commercial markets so we can create a more attractive and marketable event in itself, which in turn helps with global participation rates through World Rugby investment.

"It is important that through this process, ambitious unions can take ownership of their own development, implement effective strategic plans and aspire towards breaking through to the next level.”

The first match in the qualification process sees St Vincent and the Grenadines host Jamaica in Kingstown in the opening match of the 2016 Rugby Americas North Championship, which will be followed by the winners playing Trinidad and Tobago on 23 March. Then it's on to Guyana against Barbados in April, followed by a succession of further qualifiers throughout the summer.

The man in charge in Kingstown today is Welshman Nigel Owens, who supervised New Zealand's 34-17 victory against Australia in the final last year. It will be Owens' 69th full international and he regards his role in the the match as a great honour.

"It's an honour to be appointed to this important match and I will prepare in the same way as I always do,” said Owens. “Indeed, every time I take the field as a referee it is an honour and even more so when it's a Test match. Reffing the Rugby World Cup final was a wonderful experience and one that I will treasure forever but every match is memorable in its own way and I am really looking forward to this next challenge.

"For the players in this match it will be a chance to represent their country on the international stage and be part of the Rugby World Cup process. So from my point of view, it is important that I prepare well and perform to the best of my ability. Hopefully, if I do that it will be a good game that allows the players' talents and hard work to shine through.”

Whether either of those particular teams will be playing at the next Rugby World Cup in Japan remains to be seen but the fact is both have the opportunity to do so. Indeed, every full member of World Rugby can now aspire to play the game at the highest level.

Japan Rugby 2019 chief rxecutive Akira Shimazu said: "We at the RWC 2019 organising committee and our host cities are very excited with the fact that the qualifying process is starting. The entire nation of Japan will give all teams and fans a huge welcome in 2019.

"From attending and observing RWC 2015, as well as receiving a full debrief from the organisers, we have learned a lot from their experience and we are thrilled to be entering a new phase of preparation for what will be Asia's first Rugby World Cup. We will continue to work hard to make it a ground-breaking tournament of which everyone can be proud.”