The Rugby Africa Cup takes place from June 7th through 15th in Madagascar. The annual tournament will see four national women’s rugby teams battle for the trophy and a chance to maintain a position in the African continent’s top-flight women’s rugby group. Madagascar is hosting the games for the third time in a row and will have countries Uganda, South Africa, and Kenya fly in.
The Teams
The South African Springboks return to a familiar stage as the defending champions. The team has won three titles at the tournament and aims to defend this title, further establishing its dominance in African rugby. The Springboks, who have already secured their spot in the 2025 Rugby World Cup, hope to use this as a preparation stage ahead of the upcoming challenges. They are fielding a blended squad, with only eight players having competed in the previous World Cup games and twelve new players joining the team.
This presents an opportunity for the team and the coach to evaluate their own performance and better understand where improvements can be made before the World Cup games scheduled for September later this year. Their first game will be against the Uganda Lady Cranes.
The Ugandan side is also optimistic after making a significant return to this stage since their last appearance in 2019. The team secured a spot in this tournament earlier this year during a Division One Tournament held in Ivory Coast. While the team retained most of its squad from the Division One games, it faced a setback by losing some important players. Peace Lekuru, one of the players who didn’t travel with the team, played a crucial role in the team’s victory at the qualification tournament but will miss out on the tournament due to an ankle injury. Nevertheless, the absence of experienced players has created new opportunities for younger players to join the squad.
On the other hand, the Kenya Lionesses have achieved some great victories earlier this year in the HSBC SVNS series, which serves as a boost to the squad. They have been runner-up twice and have also finished in third place once at the tournament.
Lastly, the host country, Madagascar, has also been a powerhouse at the tournament, finishing in second place last year and, for the past two years, in third place. The Ladies Makis return to the stage eager to defend their home turf and put an end to South Africa’s winning streak.
More Information
The Rugby World Cup will occur in England this year from the end of August to late September. The teams competing in the Rugby Africa Cup are vying for dominance on the continent while trying to avoid relegation, as they cannot compete at the next level with the World Cup already established.
Schedule
Match Day 1 (June 7)
South Africa vs. Uganda
Kenya vs. Madagascar
Match Day 2 (June 11)
South Africa vs. Kenya
Madagascar vs. Uganda
Match Day 3 (June 15)
Kenya vs. Uganda
South Africa vs. Madagascar
