2019 Rugby World Cup – Africa qualification

Qualifying for the 2019 Rugby World Cup for Africa Rugby began in June 2016, with 14 teams competing. On 18 August 2018, Namibia qualified for the World Cup by winning the 2018 Rugby Africa Gold Cup, defeating Kenya, who finished second and advanced to the repechage tournament.[1]

Format

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The Rugby Africa Gold Cup is the perpetual trophy awarded to the winner of the Africa Gold Cup, a qualifier for the Rugby World Cup organised by World Rugby's African association, Rugby Africa, since 2000.

The Africa Cup, controlled by Rugby Africa (CAR), will be the regional qualification tournament for Rugby World Cup 2019.

The first qualifying round was the 2016 1B and 1C Divisions. The winner of Division 1C was promoted to 1B and the second round of qualifying, while the team placed bottom in 1B was relegated and eliminated from Rugby World Cup contention.

Similarly, 2017 saw Divisions 1A (Gold Cup) and 1B (Silver Cup) act as Round 2. The winner of the 2017 Silver Cup advanced to the Gold Cup for 2018 and remain in contention, while the loser of the 2017 Gold Cup was relegated to the 2018 Silver Cup and eliminated from Rugby World Cup contention.

In Round 3, the winners of the 2018 Gold Cup will qualify for the World Cup as 'Africa 1', while the runner-up, 'Africa 2' will advance to the Repechage tournament as the African representative.[2]

Entrants

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Fourteen teams competed during for the 2019 Rugby World Cup – African qualification; teams world rankings are prior to the first African qualification match on 12 June 2016 and bold nations denotes teams have previously played in a Rugby World Cup.

Nation Rank Begins play Qualifying status
  Botswana 64 26 June 2016 Eliminated by Ivory Coast on 5 July 2017
  Cameroon 91 5 June 2016 Withdrew from World Cup contention in June 2016
  Ivory Coast 51 29 June 2016 Eliminated by Morocco on 8 July 2017
  Kenya 27 24 June 2017 Advanced to the Repechage as Africa 2
  Madagascar 41 12 June 2016 Eliminated by Morocco on 5 July 2017
  Mauritius 86 10 July 2016 Eliminated by Nigeria on 13 July 2016
  Morocco 54 10 July 2016 Eliminated by Kenya's victory on 11 August 2018
  Namibia 21 1 July 2017 Qualified by defeating Kenya on 18 August 2018
  Nigeria 77 13 July 2016 Eliminated by Morocco on 16 July 2016
  Senegal 50 15 June 2016 Eliminated by Tunisia on 5 August 2017
  South Africa 3 N/A Qualified with Top 12 finish at 2015 World Cup
  Tunisia 38 26 June 2016 Eliminated by Kenya 11 August 2018
  Uganda 49 24 June 2017 Eliminated by Kenya's victory on 11 August 2018
  Zambia 83 12 June 2016 Eliminated by Senegal on 15 June 2016
  Zimbabwe 31 24 June 2017 Eliminated by Namibia on 4 August 2018

Round 1

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The first round consisted of ten matches between 10 teams. The winner of the Africa Cup Division 1C, Morocco, advanced to the second round and was promoted to division 1B for 2017, while the two winners of division 1B, Senegal and Tunisia, advanced to division 1A.

Round 1A: 2016 Africa Cup Division 1B

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Africa Cup Division 1B was contested by six teams, in a two-group round-robin tournament. Pool 1 was held in Monastir, Tunisia, while Pool 2 was held in Antananarivo, Madagascar. The team with the worst record was relegated to Division 1C in 2017, and thus eliminated from qualification.

Pool A

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Advances to Round 2, Div 1A
Advances to Round 2, Div 1B
Place Nation Games Points Bonus
points
Table
points
played won drawn lost for against difference
1   Senegal 2 2 0 0 84 27 +57 1 9
2   Madagascar 2 1 0 1 48 45 +3 1 5
3   Zambia 2 0 0 2 18 78 −60 0 0
Points were awarded to the teams as follows:
Win – 4 points
Draw – 2 points
4 or more tries – 1 point
Loss within 7 points – 1 point
Loss greater than 7 points – 0 points

Pool B

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Advances to Round 2, Div 1A
Advances to Round 2, Div 1B
Place Nation Games Points Bonus
points
Table
points
played won drawn lost for against difference
1   Tunisia 2 2 0 0 93 15 +78 2 10
2   Ivory Coast 2 1 0 1 25 63 −38 0 4
3   Botswana 2 0 0 2 23 63 −40 1 1
Points were awarded to the teams as follows:
Win – 4 points
Draw – 2 points
4 or more tries – 1 point
Loss within 7 points – 1 point
Loss greater than 7 points – 0 points

Final

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The two pool winners contested the final, with both teams advancing to the 2017 Africa Gold Cup.

12 November 2016
15:00
Senegal  15–14  Tunisia
Report[12]
Ben Jannet stadium, Monastir, Tunisia
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Constant Cap (Kenya)

Round 1B: 2016 Africa Cup Division 1C

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Africa Cup Division 1C was contested by three teams in a round-robin tournament. Cameroon were meant to compete but withdrew from the tournament after it was rescheduled for a later date. The tournament was held in Casablanca, Morocco.

Advances to Round 2, Div 1B
Place Nation Games Points Bonus
points
Table
points
played won drawn lost for against difference
1   Morocco 2 2 0 0 121 13 +108 2 10
2   Nigeria 2 1 0 1 41 74 −33 1 5
3   Mauritius 2 0 0 2 24 99 −75 0 0
Points were awarded to the teams as follows:
Win – 4 points
Draw – 2 points
4 or more tries – 1 point
Loss within 7 points – 1 point
Loss greater than 7 points – 0 points

Round 2

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The second round will see the five highest finishers of the six teams in the Gold Cup, Kenya, Namibia, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe, progress to the 2018 Gold Cup, with the last place side, Senegal, relegated to the Silver Division and eliminated from World Cup qualification. The Winner of Silver Cup, Morocco, was the first team to earn their place in the 2018 Gold Cup.

Round 2A: 2017 Africa Gold Cup

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Advances to Round 3
Place Nation Games Points Bonus
points
Table
points
played won drawn lost for against diff
1   Namibia 5 5 0 0 272 64 +208 5 25
2   Kenya 5 3 1 1 226 135 +91 4 18
3   Uganda 5 3 1 1 190 126 +64 2 16
4   Tunisia 5 2 0 3 91 272 −181 0 8
5   Zimbabwe 5 1 0 4 111 157 −46 2 6
6   Senegal 5 0 0 5 75 211 −136 1 1
Points were awarded to the teams as follows:
Win – 4 points
Draw – 2 points
4 or more tries – 1 point
Loss within 7 points – 1 point
Loss greater than 7 points – 0 points

Round 2B: 2017 Africa Silver Cup

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The 2017 Africa Silver Cup was contested by four teams in a knockout format. The tournament was held in Casablanca, Morocco.

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
5 July 2017 – Casablanca
 
 
  Ivory Coast58
 
8 July 2017 – Casablanca
 
  Botswana25
 
  Morocco8
 
5 July 2017 – Casablanca
 
  Ivory Coast3
 
  Morocco57
 
 
  Madagascar33
 
Third place play-off
 
 
8 July 2017 – Casablanca
 
 
  Botswana24
 
 
  Madagascar47

Round 3: 2018 Africa Gold Cup

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Six teams will contest the 2018 Rugby Africa Gold Cup and the final round of the African qualification, with the winner qualifying as Africa 1. The second placed team, Africa 2, will advance to the repechage tournament.

Qualifies as Africa 1
Advances to Repechage
Place Nation Games Points Bonus
points
Table
points
played won drawn lost for against diff
1   Namibia 5 5 0 0 347 69 +278 5 25
2   Kenya 5 4 0 1 206 135 +71 1 17
3   Uganda 5 2 0 3 160 172 −12 1 9
4   Tunisia 5 2 0 3 66 279 −213 1 9
5   Zimbabwe 5 1 1 3 139 162 −23 2 8
6   Morocco 5 0 1 4 96 197 −101 1 3
Points were awarded to the teams as follows:
Win – 4 points
Draw – 2 points
3 or more tries than the opponent – 1 point
Loss within 7 points – 1 point
Loss greater than 7 points – 0 points

References

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  1. ^ Namibia qualify for 2019 Rugby World Cup, The Namibian, 18 August 2018
  2. ^ "Afrique – Processus de qualification" (in French). World Rugby. Archived from the original on 15 May 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  3. ^ rugbybworldcup.com. "Rugby World Cup 2019". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  4. ^ rugbybworldcup.com. "Rugby World Cup 2019". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  5. ^ rugbybworldcup.com. "Rugby World Cup 2019". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  6. ^ rugbybworldcup.com. "Rugby World Cup 2019". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  7. ^ Tunisia-Botswana report
  8. ^ rugbybworldcup.com. "Rugby World Cup 2019". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  9. ^ Botswana-Ivory Coast Report
  10. ^ rugbybworldcup.com. "Rugby World Cup 2019". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  11. ^ Tunisia-Ivory Coast Report
  12. ^ Senegal-Tunisia final report
  13. ^ rugbybworldcup.com. "Rugby World Cup 2019". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  14. ^ Mauritius-Morocco Report
  15. ^ rugbybworldcup.com. "Rugby World Cup 2019". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  16. ^ Nigeria-Mauritius Report
  17. ^ rugbybworldcup.com. "Rugby World Cup 2019". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  18. ^ Morocco-Nigeria Report
  19. ^ Kenya-Uganda report
  20. ^ Senegal-Zimbabwe report
  21. ^ Senegal-Uganda report
  22. ^ Tunisia-Namibia report
  23. ^ Kenya-Tunisia report
  24. ^ Namibia-Senegal report
  25. ^ Kenya-Senegal report
  26. ^ Namibia-Zimbabwe report
  27. ^ Uganda-Namibia report
  28. ^ Zimbabwe-Kenya report
  29. ^ Zimbabwe-Tunisia report
  30. ^ Namibia-Kenya report
  31. ^ Uganda-Zimbabwe report
  32. ^ Tunisia-Senegal report
  33. ^ Ivory Coast-Botswana report
  34. ^ Morocco-Madagascar report
  35. ^ Botswana-Madagascar report
  36. ^ Morocco-Ivory Coast report