Uganda made it !
Uganda made it - What a tournament ! Year after year, African teams are showing steady progress, like Uganda which just won the Africa Cup 7s .
After defeating their hosts by 5 points - KENYA 12 - 17 UGANDA – the Cranes met Namibia in the final and won the African Champion title.
Namibia definitivelyclimbed on the bandwagon and showcased its talent in 7s rugby. It was a close call against Madagascar, and only secured their place in the Cup final in the last seconds of the match. The Makis missed their chance to qualify for Hong Kongby a hair's breadth but can all the same be proud of what they have showed in Nairobi !
Nigeria as far as they are concerned have improved their ranking and upskilled their players. Morocco’s results were somewhat disappointing but this tournament was seen as an opportunity to increase the players basis and to test younger ones. Zimbabwe is used to qualify for Hong Kong but woke up a little too late and missed their chance.
We were used to a better Tunisian team ending at the 6th position, surely a comprehensive assessment is in order. Some homework is still needed for the last teams at the bottom of the ranking : Mauritius, Zambia, Botswana and Senegal although they must be praised for their perseverence.
Finishing 11th and 12th of the tournament, Zambia and Mauritius will be relegated next year.
The Kenyans were not so bad themselves and grabbed the 3rd position with their 2nd team and even won the Safari Sevens with their 1st team. Proof that Kenya has a large pool of excellent 7s players. It must be said that the Kenya Rugby Union did an amazing job and organized a brilliant tournament in world-class facilities.
Friday23 September 2016 : Tunisia 5 - 17 Namibia Morocco 0 - 19 Madagascar Zimbabwe 14 - 19 Uganda Kenya 33 - 5 Nigeria
Botswana 7 - 19 Namibia
Zambia 0 - 40 Madagascar
Mauritius 7 - 35 Uganda
Senegal 5 - 36 Nigeria
Tunisia 19 - 7 Botswana
Morocco 22 - 17 Zambia
Zimbabwe 54 - 0 Mauritius
Kenya 31 - 0 Senegal
Saturday24 September 2016 : Botswana 24 - 21 Mauritius Zambia 14 - 24 Senegal Zimbabwe 24 - 5 Morocco Nigeria 7 - 12 Tunisia Madagascar 7 - 10 Namibia Kenya 12 - 17 Uganda
11th/12th - Mauritius 0 - 45 Zambia
9th/10th - Botswana 0 - 55 Senegal
7th/8th - Morocco 5 - 55 Nigeria
5th/6th - Zimbabwe 17 - 14 Tunisia
3rd/4th - Madagascar 0 - 46 Kenya
Final
Namibia 19 - 38 Uganda
Final ranking: 1. Uganda 2. Namibia 3. Kenya 4. Madagascar 5. Zimbabwe 6. Tunisia 7. Nigeria 8. Morocco 9. Senegal 10. Botswana 11. Zambia 12. Mauritius
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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.
