Suspense high in the three remaining matches of the African qualifiers for the Rugby World Cup
The stakes for the last three matches of the Rugby Africa Gold Cup 2018 could not be higher, with a dramatic final between Namibia and Kenya, and a fierce fight between Zimbabwe, Tunisia and Morocco to remain in the Gold Cup
The 2018 Rugby Africa Gold Cup concludes this Saturday, 18 August.
In Windhoek, Namibia will host Kenya for the final match of the tournament. With 17 points on the scoreboard, Kenya absolutely needs to win the match to overtake Namibia who already have a total of 20 points.
In the event of a defensive bonus point for Namibia, both teams would have a total of 21 points each, and according to the rules, the winner of the match between the two tied teams would win the Cup overall. The suspense remains unabated between these two teams who have not lost a single match in the Gold Cup so far.
Namibia has won with large margins and gained several bonus points giving them a good lead, but not enough to safeguard their victory against the Kenyans.
The runner-up will have to be satisfied with a place in the international playoffs that will take place in November in France with teams from Germany, Canada and Hong Kong.
In Kampala, Uganda will host Zimbabwe who are still looking for a win in this tournament to save them from relegation.
The Ugandans won their first two games at home and are hoping to finish on a high note in front of their many enthusiastic supporters in attendance. Finally, the duel between the fellow North Africans, Tunisia and Morocco, will be held in Jemmel and here, Morocco will be trying to achieve a first victory to stay in the Gold Cup.
In the event of a tie on points after all the matches have been played, the teams will be classified depending on the scores of the matches played. For example, Tunisia having beaten Zimbabwe, would have the advantage over the Sables in the case of a tie.
The draw between Morocco and Zimbabwe means that it would be necessary to examine the goal-average to decide between them. The suspense continues to build and the pressure is rising.
The matches will be refereed by Cwengile Jadzewani (South Africa) assisted by Victor Oduor (Kenya) and Nicardo Pienaar (Namibia) in Uganda at 14:00 CAT; Egon Seconds (South Africa) assisted by Precious Pazani (Zimbabwe) and Saudah Adiru (Uganda) in Namibia at 16:00 CAT; Thomas Charrabas (France) assisted by Ignace N’dri Kan (Ivory Coast) and Sylvain Mané (Senegal) at 18:00 CAT. All matches will be broadcast live on television by Kwese Sports, also on YouTube in Africa and on the World Rugby website, YouTube channel and Twitter in the rest of the world. APO.
