The Zimbabwe Sables are going back to the Rugby World Cup after 34 years. The lads from the southern Africa rugby powerhouse achieved this in nervy fashion, edging the Namibia Welwitschias 30-28 in the Rugby Africa Cup final, securing the continental silverware for the second year in a row and subsequently booking their ticket to the global showpiece.
Namibia, who have qualified for the Rugby World Cup for 7 consecutive campaigns since 1999, came out swinging in the 3rd minute of the game through a Cliven Loubser penalty. The Zimbabweans were aware of this and responded with a penalty of their own in the 6th minute through Ian Prior.
“Namibia are the kings of qualification, so we had to go and do something special to take something away from them,” Benade noted after the final.
The goal for the Sables was simple: retain the Rugby Africa Cup and qualify for the World Cup. According to coach Benade, this is a journey that started over 18 months ago with the full buy-in of the players, partners and staff.
“To know that we’ve taken the team to the World Cup is very special for our country. We need to make sure that we leave a legacy for those who will follow us, so that their lives are easier,” he noted with pride.
This special moment for the Sables wasn’t handed to them on a silver platter. In the first game of the tournament, the Atlas Lions of Morocco held Zimbabwe to a halftime score of 16-05 until the floodgates opened in the 60th minute.
“We were very respectful of the Moroccan team. We knew that they would be tough, and they took us up to the 60th minute before we broke them down,” Benade recalls that 43-08 win.
This rigorous hour of rugby prepared the Sables for the rest of the tournament and up next were the Kenya Simbas.
“The Kenya semifinal really hardened us; it was the toughest test match we played here. We played against gigantic men who were very organized and thwarted our attacks. Full credit to the Kenya team and their staff,” he looks back.
A last-minute scrum penalty confirmed the Zimbabwe win against Namibia, and despite being ecstatic about his own team’s win, coach Benade had nothing but respect and well wishes for the Welwitschias of Namibia.
“A lot of respect to them for what they have achieved and what they could still achieve in the repechage qualification game. We are hoping that the African teams are well represented at the Rugby World Cup,” he concluded.
It took the Zimbabwe Sables 18 months to win 2 Rugby Africa Cups, dethrone Namibia and qualify for the Rugby World Cup. Now they have 26 months to prepare for the tournament that shall be held in Australia from October to November 2027.