Twenty-four teams will compete at the men’s Rugby World Cup for the first time in the event’s history. This will be in Australia 2027.
Of the twenty-four, eighteen have already qualified; including the 2025 men’s Rugby Africa Cup champions Zimbabwe. This will be the Zimbabwe Sables’ third appearance having made it in 1987 and 1991.
Rugby Africa Cup runners-up Namibia still have a chance of qualifying for the tournament and making it eight successive appearances since 1999.
The Welwitschias’ journey continues with a one-off match against United Arab Emirates on Saturday, July 26.
This will be from 4 p.m. EAT (local time) at the Mandela National Stadium in Uganda during the Africa-Asia Playoff.
• Africa-Asia Playoff:
• Namibia vs United Arab Emirates
• Venue: Mandela National Stadium Namboole
• Kickoff: 4 p.m. EAT (local time)
The winner of this playoff match will progress to the Final Qualification Tournament (Repechage) scheduled for November this year in Dubai. It will feature four teams in a round-robin format.
Teams participating in Final Qualification Tournament:
• Africa-Asia Playoff Winner
• South America Rugby Championship Bronze Medal winner
• South America-Pacific Playoff Loser
• Rugby Europe Championship 5th Place
Only one team — the winner on competition points from this tournament — will qualify for the Rugby World Cup.
