Zimbabwe are the new men’s Rugby Africa Cup champions, having beaten Algeria by 29-03 points in the Cup Final at the Mandela National Stadium Namboole.
The victory means the Sables are now the top seed on the continent for the first time since 2013. They also climbed two places in the men’s World Rugby Rankings to 28th.
๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฐ men’s ๐ฅ๐๐ด๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ Cup Final ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ป๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ (World Rugby Ranking):
- Zimbabwe (28th up)
- Algeria (58th up)
- Namibiaย (25th down)
- Kenya (37th down)
- Uganda (36th up)
- Senegal (56th down)
- Cรดte dโIvoire (62nd down)
- Burkina Faso (92nd still)
Burkina Faso were relegated after losing the 7/8th place playoff to Cote d’Ivoire. They will be replaced by the winning team from the 2024 men’s Rugby Africa Cup Repechage happening later this year in Morocco.
As it stands, the pairings for the 2025 men’s Rugby Africa Cup are as follows:
- 1 vs 8: Zimbabwe vs *Rugby Africa Cup Repechage winner
- 2 vs 7: Algeria vs Cote d’Ivoire
- 3 vs 6: Namibia vs Senegal
- 4 vs 5: Kenya vs Uganda
The tournament, which will also serve as the continent’s Rugby World Cup 2027 qualifier, will be played in Kampala, Uganda.
