Qualifying for the 2027 Rugby World Cup for Africa began in July 2024, with 16 teams competing for one direct qualification spot into the final tournament.[1]
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 20 July 2024 – August 2025 |
| No. of nations | 16 |
← 2023 2031 → | |
Format
editQualifying began with the top eight African sides (excluding South Africa) playing in a straight knock-out format to determine seedings for the final round of the qualification process, with the bottom placed side of round 1, eliminated from qualification.
Round two, will see the eight development African nations competing in a round-robin tournament over two groups, with the winners of each group facing each other in round 2 final. The winner of the final will progress to the third round of the qualification process, whilst the other seven nations will be eliminated.
Round three, will see the final eight sides face each other in a straight knock-out format based on their seedings in 2024. The winner of this round will qualify for the Rugby World Cup, whilst the runner-up will face Asia 2 from the Asian qualification process in a play-off series to determine who advances to the Final Qualification Tournament.
Entrants
editEight teams will compete during for the South America qualifiers for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, with Argentina the only team thus far qualified from the Region. (Rankings as of first qualification match in this region)
| Nation | Rank | Began play | Qualifying status |
|---|---|---|---|
 Algeria |
69 | 20 July 2024 | |
 Botswana |
77 | 7 November 2024 | |
 Burkina Faso |
92 | 20 July 2024 | Eliminated by Ivory Coast on 28 July 2024 |
 Cameroon |
108 | 7 November 2024 | |
 Ghana |
86 | 18 November 2024 | |
 Ivory Coast |
47 | 20 July 2024 | |
 Kenya |
34 | 20 July 2024 | |
 Morocco |
46 | 7 November 2024 | |
 Madagascar |
44 | 7 November 2024 | |
 Namibia |
23 | 20 July 2024 | |
 Nigeria |
68 | 18 November 2024 | |
 Senegal |
61 | 20 July 2024 | |
 South Africa |
1 | N/A | Qualified with Top 12 finish at 2023 World Cup |
 Tunisia |
48 | 18 November 2024 | |
 Uganda |
36 | 20 July 2024 | |
 Zambia |
67 | 18 November 2024 | |
 Zimbabwe |
30 | 20 July 2024 |
Round 1: 2024 Rugby Africa Cup
editThe first round was a straight knock-out tournament held from 20 to 28 July 2024 in Kampala, Uganda.[2]
Bracket
edit| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| Namibia | 38 | |||||||||
| Burkina Faso | 5 | |||||||||
| Namibia | 10 | |||||||||
| Zimbabwe | 32 | |||||||||
| Zimbabwe | 22 | |||||||||
| Uganda | 20 | |||||||||
| Zimbabwe | 29 | |||||||||
| Algeria | 3 | |||||||||
| Kenya | 36 | |||||||||
| Senegal | 17 | |||||||||
| Kenya | 12 | |||||||||
| Algeria | 20 | Third place | ||||||||
| Algeria | 32 | |||||||||
| Ivory Coast | 12 | |||||||||
| Namibia | 38 | |||||||||
| Kenya | 27 | |||||||||
Quarter-finals
edit| 20 July 2024 10:00 |
| Namibia | 38–5 | Burkina Faso |
| Report |
| Mandela National Stadium, Kampala Referee: Precious Pazani (Zimbabwe) |
| 20 July 2024 12:00 |
| Kenya | 36-17 | Senegal |
| Report |
| Mandela National Stadium, Kampala Referee: Ben Connor (Wales) |
| 20 July 2024 14:00 |
| Algeria | 32–12 | Ivory Coast |
| Report |
| Mandela National Stadium, Kampala Referee: Julien Caulier (France) |
| 20 July 2024 16:00 |
| Zimbabwe | 22–20 | Uganda |
| Report |
| Mandela National Stadium, Kampala Referee: Benjamin Beuriot (France) |
Semi-finals
edit| 24 July 2024 14:00 |
| Kenya | 12–20 | Algeria |
| Report |
| Mandela National Stadium, Kampala Referee: Julien Caulier (France) |
| 24 July 2024 16:00 |
| Namibia | 10–32 | Zimbabwe |
| Report |
| Mandela National Stadium, Kampala Referee: Ben Connor (Wales) |
Third place match
edit| 28 July 2024 14:00 |
| Kenya | 27–38 | Namibia |
| Report |
| Mandela National Stadium, Kampala Referee: Talent Gandiwa (Zimbabwe) |
Final
edit| 28 July 2024 16:00 |
| Zimbabwe | 29–3 | Algeria |
| Report |
| Mandela National Stadium, Kampala Referee: Julien Caulier (France) |
Ranking matches
edit5–8th place play-offs
edit| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| Uganda | 25 | |||||
| Burkina Faso | 15 | |||||
| Uganda | 34 | |||||
| Senegal | 31 | |||||
| Senegal | 25 | |||||
| Ivory Coast | 8 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| Ivory Coast | 23 | |||||
| Burkina Faso | 10 | |||||
Semi-finals
edit| 24 July 2024 10:00 |
| Senegal | 25–8 | Ivory Coast |
| Report |
| Mandela National Stadium, Kampala Referee: Stéphane Rakotonirainy (Madagascar) |
| 24 July 2024 12:00 |
| Uganda | 25–15 | Burkina Faso |
| Report |
| Mandela National Stadium, Kampala Referee: Nicardo Pienaar (Namibia) |
5th/6th play-off
edit| 28 July 2024 12:00 |
| Uganda | 34–31 | Senegal |
| Report |
| Mandela National Stadium, Kampala Referee: Zaid Isaaccs (Namibia) |
Relegation play-off
edit| 28 July 2024 10:00 |
| Ivory Coast | 23–10 | Burkina Faso |
| Report |
| Mandela National Stadium, Kampala Referee: Benjamin Beuriot (France) |
Round 2: 2024 Rugby Africa Repechage
editPool A
editPool A will be a round-robin tournament held from 18 to 24 November 2024 in Monastir, Tunisia.
| Advanced to Round 2 final |
| Rank | Team | Games | Points | Bonus Points |
Table Points | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Diff | ||||
| 1 | Ghana |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Nigeria |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Tunisia |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Zambia |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 0 |
| Points were awarded to the teams as follows: Win - 4 points Draw - 1 points 4 or more tries - 1 point Loss within 7 points - 1 point Loss greater than 7 points - 0 points | ||||||||||
Pool B
editPool B will be a round-robin tournament held from 7–18 November 2024 in Casablanca, Morocco.[3]
| Advanced to Round 2 final |
| Rank | Team | Games | Points | Bonus Points |
Table Points | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Diff | ||||
| 1 | Botswana |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Cameroon |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Madagascar |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Morocco |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 0 |
| Points were awarded to the teams as follows: Win - 4 points Draw - 1 points 4 or more tries - 1 point Loss within 7 points - 1 point Loss greater than 7 points - 0 points | ||||||||||
Final
edit| TBA |
| Pool A Winner | v | Pool B Winner |
| TBA |
Round 3: 2025 Rugby Africa Cup
editRound 2 will commence in the July 2025, with a round-robin tournament determining the winner and qualifying for the Rugby World Cup as Africa 1. The runner-up (Africa 2) will progress to an Africa / Asia play-off match against Asia 2 to decide who plays in the inal Qualification Tournament.
Like the first round, Kampala, Uganda will host the tournament.[4]
The following teams have qualified for the final stage of African qualification with one space remaining:
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Qualification process confirmed for expanded Men's Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia". Women's and Men's Rugby World Cup. August 13, 2024.
- ^ "2024 Rugby Africa Cup, 18th to 29th July 2024 in Kampala, Uganda". www.ncs.go.ug. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
- ^ "Speech By Rugby Africa President To Launch 2024 Rugby Africa Cup – Kampala". Rugby Africa. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
- ^ "Uganda Welcomes 2024 Rugby Africa Cup for Historic Continental Tournament". Rugby Africa. Retrieved 2024-08-25.