Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

What to watch in men’s rugby: Namibia out to defend African title

By Martyn Thomas
LYON, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 27: The players of Namibia line up during the National Anthems prior to the Rugby World Cup France 2023 match between Uruguay and Namibia at Parc Olympique on September 27, 2023 in Lyon, France. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

Namibia will continue their Rugby Africa Cup title defence this week and you can find out whether the Welwitschias can win the tournament for a seventh successive time live and for free with RugbyPass TV.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Welwitschias booked their place in the semi-finals with a six-try 38-5 defeat of Burkina Faso in Kampala last Saturday.

Despite the scoreline, Namibia were made to work hard for their win and didn’t breach the opposition line until the 33rd minute when Quirione Majiedt notched the first of his two tries.

Video Spacer

Brodie Retallick opens up on Walk the Talk | Trailer | RPTV

All Blacks and lineout king Brodie Retallick opens up to Jim Hamilton in the latest episode of Walk the Talk. Full episode available now exclusively to RugbyPass TV

Watch now

Video Spacer

Brodie Retallick opens up on Walk the Talk | Trailer | RPTV

All Blacks and lineout king Brodie Retallick opens up to Jim Hamilton in the latest episode of Walk the Talk. Full episode available now exclusively to RugbyPass TV

Watch now

Even then it took until well into the second half for Namibia to pull away from Burkina Faso and their reward for victory is a semi-final against Zimbabwe.

The Sables held off a second-half fightback from Uganda last weekend, holding on to beat the hosts 22-20 in Kampala and secure their passage to the last four.

Wednesday’s semi-final is a repeat of the teams’ meeting at the same stage in Aix-en-Provence in 2022, the last time the Rugby Africa Cup was staged.

Fixture
Internationals
Zimbabwe
32 - 10
Full-time
Namibia
All Stats and Data

Namibia won that match 34-19 en route to the title and qualification to Rugby World Cup 2023, and the Welwitschias have history on their side. They haven’t lost to Zimbabwe in their previous 13 meetings, dating back to 2001.

ADVERTISEMENT

Whoever comes out on top in the latest chapter of their shared rivalry will play either Kenya or Algeria in Sunday’s final in Kampala.

In a mirror of the other 2022 semi-final, Algeria will hope to avenge their narrow 36-33 defeat to the Simbas in Marseille two years ago.

Algeria full-back Julien Caminati kicked 17 points last Saturday as Algeria booked their place in the last four with a 32-12 victory against Ivory Coast.

Fixture
Internationals
Kenya
12 - 20
Full-time
Algeria
All Stats and Data

They will face Kenya again on Wednesday, after the Simbas ran in five tries to beat Senegal 36-17.

ADVERTISEMENT

Day two’s action will get underway on Wednesday morning when Senegal take on Ivory Coast before Burkina Faso face Uganda in the placing semi-finals.

The 2024 Rugby Africa Cup champions will be crowned on Sunday, and you can stream all of the action from Kampala on RugbyPass TV, except in Uganda.

Wednesday, July 24th

09:00 BST (GMT+1) – Rugby Africa Cup 2024 day two – WATCH LIVE HERE

Sunday, July 28th

09:00 BST – Rugby Africa Cup 2024 finals day – WATCH LIVE HERE

ADVERTISEMENT

Join free

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

TRENDING
TRENDING Rassie Erasmus reacts to All Blacks’ changes after injuries to key players Rassie Erasmus reacts to All Blacks’ changes
Search