Zimbabwe won the 2025 men’s Rugby Africa Cup, beating Namibia in a nail biting final at the Mandela National Stadium Namboole on Saturday evening.
This, their third title in history, also came with a direct ticket to the 2027 men’s Rugby World Cup in Australia.
In the bronze medal match, Algeria got the better of Kenya under a light downpour.
Senegal were best of the rest after beating Morocco in the fifth-place playoff match which went up to sudden death in extra time.
And Côte d’Ivoire collected the wooden spoon as Uganda finally bagged a win on home soil.
Here are the final rankings of the tournament:
1. Zimbabwe
2. Namibia
3. Algeria
4. Kenya
5. Senegal
6. Morocco
7. Uganda
8. Côte d’Ivoire
Rugby Africa did not confirm when and where the next edition of the men’s Africa Cup will be held, and what playing format it will follow.
But should it be done as the past two editions in 2024 and 2025, it will start at the quarterfinal stage with the lowest-ranked team being relegated and replaced by the winner of the men’s Rugby Africa Repechage (RAR).
This, hypothetically, is what the quarterfinal fixtures would look like:
• Zimbabwe vs RAR winner*
• Namibia vs Uganda
• Algeria vs Morocco
• Kenya vs Senegal