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The fight to become Africa 1 took an unexpected turn this afternoon. In Tunis Tunisia claimed an upset victory over Zimbabwe in a RWC qualifier. The 18-14 victory is the first for Tunisia who were hammered 118-0 by Namibia last month.
The fixture was the third for Zimbabwe. With the Sables having been well placed pre-tournament they have failed to perform. Prior to today’s defeat against Tunisia the Sables were beaten 45-36 by Kenya and held to a 23-23 draw at home against Morocco.
The ongoing RWC qualifiers in Africa are played under the title, the Gold Cup. Competing in the Gold Cup are Namibia, Kenya, Morocco, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. The six African countries are chasing the automatic Africa 1 spot of a place in RWC 2019. Also on the line is a trip to the global repechage tournament, with that spot going to Africa 2.
Africa 2 will join three other countries in RWC repechage. Canada and Hong Kong have thus far secured their places. The remaining spot will go to either Germany or Samoa with the former highly likely to be involved due to Samoa being on course to qualify as the Play-Off Winner.
Following today’s Gold Cup fixtures the competition takes a break. The African RWC qualifiers will resume on August 04 with Zimbabwe at home to Namibia and Tunisia playing away to Uganda.
The country which wins the Gold Cup will play in Pool B of RWC 2019. The challenging competition awaiting Africa 1 includes Italy, New Zealand, and South Africa. The fifth spot in the group will go to the Repechage Winner.
Based on rankings, history and performances Canada is favored to qualify as the Repechage Winner. Though securing the final spot in Japan 2019 will require a high standard of rugby from the North Americans in the global repechage tournament this coming November in France.
