Zimbabwe at the Rugby World Cup

Zimbabwe have made two Rugby World Cup appearances – in 1987 and 1991.

Map of nations best results, excluding nations which unsuccessfully participated in qualifying tournaments.

In the 1987 Rugby World Cup, Zimbabwe's national rugby team was invited as the African entrant. No other African countries were invited, as South Africa was disqualified from the tournament due to a sporting boycott adopted by the international community in response to apartheid.

However, Zimbabwe succeeded in getting through 1991 Rugby World Cup qualifying, and hosted the Africa qualifications. In more recent years, the Namibia national rugby union team has generally defeated Zimbabwe in African qualifying rounds.

Nation Number of appearances First appearance Most recent appearance Streak Best result
 Zimbabwe 2 1987 1991 2 No games won

By position

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Rugby World Cup record Qualification
Year Round P W D L F A Squad Head coach P W D L F A
    1987 Pool stage 3 0 0 3 53 151 Squad B. Murphy Automatically qualified
          1991 Pool stage 3 0 0 3 31 158 Squad I. Buchanan 3 3 0 0 62 12
  1995 Did not qualify 6 3 0 3 169 120
  1999 5 2 0 3 125 102
  2003 2 1 0 1 82 45
  2007 4 2 0 2 55 84
  2011 1 0 0 1 21 35
  2015 6 3 0 3 170 126
  2019 5 1 1 3 139 162
  2023 5 3 0 2 265 73
Total 6 0 0 6 84 309 37 18 1 18 1088 759
  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place Home venue

Matches

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1987 Rugby World Cup

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Pool 4 games –

Team Pld W D L PF PA PD T Pts Qualification
  France 3 2 1 0 145 44 +101 25 5[a] Knockout stage
  Scotland 3 2 1 0 135 69 +66 22 5[a]
  Romania 3 1 0 2 61 130 −69 6 2
  Zimbabwe 3 0 0 3 53 151 −98 5 0
Source: [citation needed]
Notes:
  1. ^ a b France qualify as pool winner having scored three tries to Scotland's two in their drawn match.
23 May 1987
Romania  21–20  Zimbabwe
Try: Paraschiv
Toader
Hodorcă
Pen: Alexandru (3)
Try: Tsimba (2)
Neill
Con: Ferreira
Pen: Ferreira (2)
Eden Park, Auckland
Attendance: 4,500
Referee: Stephen Hilditch (Ireland)

30 May 1987
Scotland  60–21  Zimbabwe
Try: Tait (2)
Tukalo (2)
Duncan (2)
Paxton (2)
Oliver
Hastings
Jeffrey
Con: Hastings (8)
Try: Buitendag
Con: Grobler
Pen: Grobler (5)
Athletic Park, Wellington
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: David Burnett (Ireland)

2 June 1987
France  70–12  Zimbabwe
Try: Modin (3)
Camberabero (3)
Charvet (2)
Rodriguez (2)
Dubroca
Estève
Laporte
Con: Camberabero (9)
Try: Kaulback
Con: Grobler
Pen: Grobler (2)
Eden Park, Auckland
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Derek Bevan (Wales)

1991 Rugby World Cup

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Pool 2 games –

Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
  Scotland 3 3 0 0 122 36 +86 6
  Ireland 3 2 0 1 102 51 +51 4
  Japan 3 1 0 2 77 87 −10 2
  Zimbabwe 3 0 0 3 31 158 −127 0
Source: [citation needed]
6 October 1991
Ireland  55–11  Zimbabwe
Tries: Robinson (4), Popplewell (2), Geoghegan, Curtis
Con: Keyes (4)
Pen: Keyes (5)
Tries: Dawson, Schultz
Pen: Ferreira
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Referee: Keith Lawrence  

9 October 1991
Scotland  51–12  Zimbabwe
Tries: Tukalo (3), Turnbull, S. Hastings, Stanger, Weir, White
Con: Dods (5)
Pen: Dods (2)
Drop: Wylie
Tries: Garvey (2)
Con: Currin (2)
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Referee: Don Reordan  

14 October 1991
Japan  52–8  Zimbabwe
Tries: Yoshida (2), Mashuho (2), Kutsuki (2), Horikoshi, Luaiufi, Matsuo
Con: Hosokawa (2)
Pen: Hosokawa (4)
Tries: Tsimba, Nguruve
Ravenhill, Belfast
Referee: Rene Hourquet  

1995 Rugby World Cup

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Did not qualify.

1999 Rugby World Cup

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Did not qualify.

2003 Rugby World Cup

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Did not qualify.

2007 Rugby World Cup

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Did not qualify.

2011 Rugby World Cup

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Did not qualify.

2015 Rugby World Cup

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Did not qualify.

2019 Rugby World Cup

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Did not qualify.

Overall record

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Country Pld W D L F A +/- %
  Romania 1 0 0 1 20 21 −1 0
  Ireland 1 0 0 1 11 55 −44 0
  Japan 1 0 0 1 8 52 −44 0
  France 1 0 0 1 12 70 −58 0
  Scotland 2 0 0 2 33 113 −80 0
TOTAL 6 0 0 6 105 373 −268 0

Team Records

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Most Points in a Tournament
  • 53 (1987)
  • 31 (1991)
Most Points in a Game
Biggest Winning Margin

NIL

Highest Score Against
Biggest Losing Margin
Most Tries in a Game

Individual records

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Most appearances
Most points overall
Most points in a game
Most tries overall
Most penalty goals
Most penalty goals in a game

References

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  • Davies, Gerald (2004) The History of the Rugby World Cup (Sanctuary Publishing Ltd, (ISBN 1860746020)
  • Farr-Jones, Nick, (2003). Story of the Rugby World Cup, Australian Post Corporation, (ISBN 0-642-36811-2)