As Uganda prepares to host the 2025 Rugby Africa Cup, the stakes are higher than ever.
This tournament will serve as a crucial qualifying round for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, marking Uganda’s opportunity to compete on the world stage.
After finishing fifth in the 2024 Rugby Africa Cup, also hosted at Mandela National Stadium, Uganda’s national rugby team must now elevate their performance to secure a spot in the next World Cup.
With 12 teams – France, New Zealand, Italy, Ireland, Champions South Africa, Scotland, Wales, Fiji, Australia, England, Argentina and Japan – having qualified directly by finishing top three in their pool at France 2023, 12 teams will be determined via the RWC 2027 global qualification process.
To secure a place in the 2027 Rugby World Cup, Uganda must either win the 2025 Rugby Africa Cup or finish as runners-up to qualify for a playoff game against the runners up from Asia.
Winning the tournament outright guarantees direct qualification, a feat that will require overcoming the continent’s top rugby nations.
This would be a historic achievement for Ugandan rugby, marking their debut in the world’s most prestigious rugby tournament.
However, if Uganda finishes second in the Rugby Africa Cup they will have a playoff against Asia’s runners up and the winner will qualify for the repechage tournament—a final qualification pathway.
The repechage will involve a four-team round-robin tournament. The four teams will be; the third team in the Sudamerica Rugby Championship 2025, the South America / Pacific Play-off loser, the fifth team in the Rugby Europe Championship 2025 and the Africa / Asia Play-off winner.
Uganda’s performance in the 2024 Rugby Africa Cup, where they finished fifth, highlighted both potential and areas for improvement.
Hosting the event provided a boost of local support, but the team struggled against Zimbabwe in the quarter finals eventually failing to break into the top four.
The lessons learned from that campaign will be crucial as they aim to make the necessary adjustments and push for a top-two finish in 2025.
The qualification pathway for the 2027 Rugby World Cup has been reimagined, featuring 11 direct qualification spots from regional competitions and a final repechage tournament for the last available place.
In each region, teams will qualify as follows:
-Europe (4) – Rugby Europe Championship 2025 top four teams
-Africa (1) – Rugby Africa Cup 2025 champions
-Asia (1) – Asia Rugby Men’s Championship 2025 champions
-South America (1) – Sudamerica Rugby Championship 2025 champions
-Pacific (3) – Pacific Nations Cup 2025 top three teams (minus Fiji and Japan already qualified)
-South America / Pacific Play-off (1) – Sudamerica Rugby Championship 2025 runners up against Pacific Nations Cup’s bottom team (excluding qualified teams)
-Final Qualification Tournament (1)
