Zimbabwe Sables drop in rugby rankings

Sport
THE ZIMBABWE Sables’ inactivity on the international scene has negatively impacted on their IRB world rankings.

THE ZIMBABWE Sables’ inactivity on the international scene has negatively impacted on their IRB world rankings. HENRY MHARA SPORTS REPORTER

Latest figures released yesterday showed that the Brendon Dawson side have dropped a place down to position 33 on the rankings.

Zimbabwe has been idle on the international scene since July when they played in the Confederation of African Rugby Division 1A championships in Antananarivo, Madagascar, where they lost in the final to Kenya.

But they have a chance to improve when they play in the tri-nations series in Namibia early next month.

The series which kicks off next Friday and runs through to November 16, will involve perennial foes Namibia and Kenya.

Zimbabwe will begin the series against Namibia on Friday and their next match will be against Kenya the following Tuesday.

Kenya are the defending Confederation of African Rugby Division 1A Champions after beating Zimbabwe 29-17 in the final in Antananarivo in July.

Namibia only recently returned to Division 1A after winning the CAR Division 1B championships and this tourney is sure to serve as a build-up for each of these three sides ahead of the 2014 CAR Division 1A Championships slated for April in Madagascar where qualification for the 2015 Rugby World Cup will be at stake.

The Sables can get an automatic ticket by winning the Africa Cup next year against Namibia, Kenya and Madagascar.

They will play Madagascar in the semi-final and even if they lose the final against either Kenya or Nambia, they will have another shot at a play-off with a European country. Fixtures: November 8; Namibia v Zimbabwe, November 12; Kenya v Zimbabwe, November 16; Namibia v Kenya