Black Stallions finished 8th as Kenya qualifies for Japan 2020 Olympics
The Black Stallions entered the tournament as the last ranked team and had to face defending champions Zimbabwe LAGOS, Nigeria, November 11, 2019 -…
The Black Stallions entered the tournament as the last ranked team and had to face defending champions Zimbabwe
LAGOS, Nigeria, November 11, 2019 - Nigeria Rugby Sevens Team participated in the Africa Cup Sevens which doubled as Japan 2020 Olympic Qualifiers at the Bosman Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa over the weekend. It was their first appearance at the Africa Cup since 2016 following a ban on Nigeria by World Rugby in 2017.The Black Stallions entered the tournament as the last ranked team (14) and had to face defending champions Zimbabwe (1). The Stallions were impressive all through the match leading 14-12 at half time. The match ended 24-21 in favour of the Zimbabweans but immediately took Nigeria into the championship top 8 spot being the best looser of the first round of matches played.
Seven matches were played early on Day 1. the seven winners plus the best loser (Nigeria) advanced to the Championship phase of the tournament while the bottom six faced off in the Trophy phase.
The Stallions suffered injuries to Samuel Akpabio in the first match and lost steam and depth. They later went on to loose to Zimbabwe again, Madagascar, Zambia and Senegal.
Recall Nigeria were relegated in 2017 after a ban by World Rugby and had to play from the ground up for two years, beating Super 16 Champions; Niger Republic 59-13 in Niamey in August 2018 which qualified them into the Africa North Regional Sevens in Ivory Coast in September 2018 where they finished runners up (tournament's best team) to earn a place in this year's Africa Cup Sevens and also set up a 2023 World Cup Qualification match against Madagascar on December 1.
Kenya shrugged off Madagascar in the semi final before beating Uganda in the final to pick up their second straight Olympic spot. Zimbabwe beat Madagacar in the third place play off and earn a place in a repêchage tournament to keep their Olympics hope alive. South Africa did not take part as they have qualified for the Olympics automatically through last year's HSBC Sevens Tournament
Nigeria's top 8 finish means Nigeria has automatically qualified for next year's Africa Cup Sevens / HSBC Sevens qualifiers.
Final ranking Final ranking Africa Men's Sevens 2019:
1 Kenya - KE
2 Uganda - UG
3 Zimbabwe - ZW
4 Madagascar - MG
5 Namibia - NA
6 Zambia - ZM
7 Senegal - SN
8 Nigeria - NG
9 Ghana- GH
10 Morocco - MA
11 Tunisia - TN
12 Côte D’Ivoire - CI
13 Mauritius - MU
14 Botswana - BW
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About Rugby Africa:
Rugby Africa (www.RugbyAfrique.com) is the governing body of rugby in Africa and one of the regional associations under World Rugby. It unites all African countries that play rugby union, rugby sevens, and women’s rugby. Rugby Africa organizes various competitions, including the qualifying tournaments for the Rugby World Cup and the Africa Sevens, a qualifying competition for the Olympic Games. With 39 member unions, Rugby Africa is dedicated to promoting and developing rugby across the continent. World Rugby highlighted Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia as three of the six emerging nations experiencing strong growth in rugby.
