# 2015 Rugby World Cup – Africa qualification

The Africa section of 2015 Rugby World Cup qualifying saw thirteen teams competing for one direct qualification spot into the final tournament in England, and one spot in the Repechage play-offs.

## Format

The Africa Cup, run by the Confederation of African Rugby (CAR), was the regional qualification tournament for Rugby World Cup 2015, with Divisions 1A, 1B and 1C involved in the process. The 2012 Divisions 1B and 1C acted as the qualification matches in Round 1, with the Division 1C winner being promoted to Division 1B for the second round in 2013, while the bottom placed team in Division 1B was relegated to 1C and eliminated from Rugby World Cup contention. 2013 saw Divisions 1A and 1B act as the qualification matches in Round 2. The top three teams of Division 1A remained in that same division for the final round in 2014, to be joined by the winner of Division 1B in 2013. The teams that did not win Division 1B or were relegated out of 1A were eliminated from Rugby World Cup qualification. Namibia, the winner of Round 3, or Division 1A, in 2014 qualified for the 2015 Rugby World Cup as Africa 1, while the runner-up, Zimbabwe, entered the Repechage for a second chance to qualify.

## Entrants

Thirteen teams competed for the 2015 Rugby World Cup – Africa qualification. Shown in parentheses are the teams' world rankings prior to the first African qualification match on 4 July 2012.
* Botswana (81)
* Ivory Coast (47)
* Kenya (40)
* Madagascar (56)
* Mauritius (NR)
* Morocco (27)
* Nigeria (91)
* Namibia (21)
* Senegal (52)
* Tunisia (34)
* Uganda (43)
* Zambia (74)
* Zimbabwe (32)

### Qualified nations

* South Africa (Automatic qualifier)
* Namibia (Africa 1)

## Round 1

The first round consisted of nine matches between nine teams. The winner of the Africa Cup Division 1C (Round 1B), advanced to the second round and was promoted to Division 1B for 2013, while the top three teams in CAR Division 1B (Round 1A), also advanced into the second round.

### Round 1A: 2012 Africa Cup Division 1B

The 2012 Africa Cup Division 1B took place in Madagascar at Mahamasina Stadium in Antananarivo on 4 July and 8 July. The champion, Madagascar, was promoted up to Division 1A thus advancing to Round 2B. Namibia and Senegal remained in Division 1B for 2013, advancing to Round 2A. Morocco was eliminated from Rugby World Cup, by virtue of being relegated to Division 1C for 2013.
| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| July 4, 2012 – Antananarivo | July 4, 2012 – Antananarivo |
| Madagascar | 35 |
| Madagascar | 35 | July 8, 2012 – Antananarivo | July 8, 2012 – Antananarivo |
| Morocco | 28 | July 8, 2012 – Antananarivo | July 8, 2012 – Antananarivo |
| Morocco | 28 | Madagascar | 57 |
| July 4, 2012 – Antananarivo | July 4, 2012 – Antananarivo | | Madagascar | 57 |
| July 4, 2012 – Antananarivo | July 4, 2012 – Antananarivo | Namibia | 54 |
| Namibia | 20 | Namibia | 54 |
| Senegal | 18 | | |
| Senegal | 18 | Third place play-off | Third place play-off |
| | | July 8, 2012 – Antananarivo | July 8, 2012 – Antananarivo |
| | | Morocco | 25 |
| | | Senegal | 26 |
Matches :
4 July 2012 13:00 EAT (UTC-03)Madagascar 35–28 MoroccoStatsStade Mahamasina, Antananarivo, Madagascar Attendance: 35,000 Referee: Pro Legoete (South Africa)
4 July 2012 15:00 EAT (UTC-03)Namibia 20–18 SenegalStatsStade Mahamasina, Antananarivo, Madagascar Attendance: 35,000 Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
8 July 2012 13:00 EAT (UTC-03)Morocco 25–26 SenegalStatsStade Mahamasina, Antananarivo, Madagascar Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Pro Legoete (South Africa)
8 July 2012 15:00 EAT (UTC-03)Madagascar 57–54 (a.e.t.) NamibiaStatsStade Mahamasina, Antananarivo, Madagascar Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa) :

### Round 1B: 2012 Africa Cup Division 1C

The 2012 Africa Cup Division 1C took place in Botswana at UB Stadium in Gaborone from 22 July to 28 July. The champions, Botswana, were promoted up to Division 1B for 2013, thus advancing to Round 2A. Ivory Coast, Mauritius, Zambia and Nigeria were eliminated from Rugby World Cup qualifying.
* Advances to Round 2A
| Place | Nation | Games | Games | Games | Games | Points | Points | Points | Bonus points | Table points |
| Place | Nation | played | won | drawn | lost | for | against | difference | Bonus points | Table points |
| 1 | Botswana | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 29 | +19 | 0 | 8 |
| 2 | Ivory Coast | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 35 | +18 | 0 | 8 |
| 3 | Mauritius | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 47 | −7 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Zambia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 33 | 47 | −14 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Nigeria | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 39 | 55 | −16 | 0 | 0 |
| Points were awarded to the teams as follows: Win - 4 points Draw - 2 points 4 or more tries - 1 point Loss within 7 points - 1 point Loss greater than 7 points - 0 points |
Matches :
22 July 2012 14:00 CAT (UTC+02) Mauritius26–22 NigeriaStatsUB Stadium, Gaborone, Botswana Referee: Denis Anguyo (Uganada)
22 July 2012 16:00 CAT (UTC+02) Botswana23–15 ZambiaStatsUB Stadium, Gaborone, Botswana Referee: Gabriel Masenda (Zimbabwe)
25 July 2012 16:00 CAT (UTC+02) Ivory Coast29–17 NigeriaStatsUB Stadium, Gaborone, Botswana Referee: Emmanuel Masinki (Botswana)
28 July 2012 14:00 CAT (UTC+02) Ivory Coast24–18 ZambiaStatsUB Stadium, Gaborone, Botswana Referee: Emmanuel Massinki (Botswana)
28 July 2012 16:00 CAT (UTC+02) Botswana25–14 MauritiusStatsUB Stadium, Gaborone, Botswana Referee: Andrew Karani (Kenya) :

## Round 2

The second round consisted of eight matches featuring the top eight teams in Africa outside of South Africa. The top three teams of CAR Division 1A advanced to the third round, while the winner of CAR Division 1B was promoted to Division 1A thus advancing to the third round.

### Round 2A: 2013 Africa Cup Division 1B

The 2013 Africa Cup Division 1B took place in Senegal at Stade Iba Mar Diop in Dakar on 11 June and 15 June. The champions, Namibia, were promoted to Division 1A to Round 3, while Botswana, Senegal and Tunisia were eliminated from Rugby World Cup qualifying.
| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| June 11, 2013 – Dakar | June 11, 2013 – Dakar |
| Tunisia | 43 |
| Tunisia | 43 | June 15, 2013 – Dakar | June 15, 2013 – Dakar |
| Botswana | 12 | June 15, 2013 – Dakar | June 15, 2013 – Dakar |
| Botswana | 12 | Tunisia | 13 |
| June 11, 2013 – Dakar | June 11, 2013 – Dakar | | Tunisia | 13 |
| June 11, 2013 – Dakar | June 11, 2013 – Dakar | Namibia | 45 |
| Senegal | 12 | Namibia | 45 |
| Namibia | 35 | | |
| Namibia | 35 | Third place | Third place |
| | | June 15, 2013 – Dakar | June 15, 2013 – Dakar |
| | | Botswana | 5 |
| | | Senegal | 41 |
Matches :
11 June 2013 14:30 WET (UTC+00)Botswana 12–43 TunisiaStatsIba Mar Diop, Dakar, Senegal Referee: Arnaud Blondel (France)
11 June 2013 16:30 WET (UTC+00)Senegal 12–35 NamibiaStatsIba Mar Diop, Dakar, Senegal Referee: Sébastien Minery (France)
15 June 2013 14:30 WET (UTC+00)Senegal 41–5 BotswanaStatsIba Mar Diop, Dakar, Senegal Referee: Arnaud Blondel (France)
15 June 2013 16:30 WET (UTC+00)Namibia 45–13 TunisiaStatsIba Mar Diop, Dakar, Senegal Referee: Sébastien Minery (France) :

### Round 2B: 2013 Africa Cup Division 1A

The 2013 Africa Cup Division 1A took place in Madagascar at Mahamasina Stadium in Antananarivo on 10 July and 14 July. The top three teams, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Madagascar, remained in Division 1A for 2014, thus advancing to Round 3, while Uganda were eliminated from Rugby World Cup Qualifying.
| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| July 10, 2013 – Antananarivo | July 10, 2013 – Antananarivo |
| Uganda | 11 |
| Uganda | 11 | July 14, 2013 – Antananarivo | July 14, 2013 – Antananarivo |
| Kenya | 51 | July 14, 2013 – Antananarivo | July 14, 2013 – Antananarivo |
| Kenya | 51 | Kenya | 29 |
| July 10, 2013 – Antananarivo | July 10, 2013 – Antananarivo | | Kenya | 29 |
| July 10, 2013 – Antananarivo | July 10, 2013 – Antananarivo | Zimbabwe | 17 |
| Zimbabwe | 38 | Zimbabwe | 17 |
| Madagascar | 18 | | |
| Madagascar | 18 | Third place | Third place |
| | | July 14, 2013 – Antananarivo | July 14, 2013 – Antananarivo |
| | | Uganda | 32 |
| | | Madagascar | 48 |
Matches :
10 July 2013 12:30 EAT (UTC+03)Kenya 51–11 UgandaStatsStade Mahamasina, Antananarivo, Madagascar Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Pro Legoete (South Africa)
10 July 2013 14:30 EAT (UTC+03)Madagascar 18–38 ZimbabweStatsStade Mahamasina, Antananarivo, Madagascar Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)
14 July 2013 12:30 EAT (UTC+03)Uganda 32–48 MadagascarStatsStade Mahamasina, Antananarivo, Madagascar Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Pro Legoete (South Africa)
14 July 2013 14:30 EAT (UTC+03)Kenya 29–17 ZimbabweStatsStade Mahamasina, Antananarivo, Madagascar Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa) :

## Round 3: 2014 Africa Cup Division 1A

The third and final round consisted of 6 matches, featuring the top 4 ranked teams in Africa in a Round-robin format, and doubled as the 2014 Africa Cup Division 1A. The winner, Namibia, qualified for Pool C of the 2015 Rugby World Cup as Africa 1. The runner up, Zimbabwe, advanced to the repechage playoff against Russia.
The 2014 Africa Cup Division 1A took place in Madagascar at Mahamasina Stadium in Antananarivo, between 28 June and 6 July.
* Qualified as Africa 1
* Advances to Repechage
| Place | Nation | Games | Games | Games | Games | Points | Points | Points | Bonus points | Table points |
| Place | Nation | played | won | drawn | lost | for | against | difference | Bonus points | Table points |
| 1 | Namibia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 135 | 59 | +76 | 2 | 10 |
| 2 | Zimbabwe | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 105 | 56 | +49 | 2 | 10 |
| 3 | Kenya | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 73 | 50 | +23 | 2 | 10 |
| 4 | Madagascar | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 32 | 180 | −148 | 0 | 0 |
| Points were awarded to the teams as follows: Win - 4 points Draw - 2 points 4 or more tries - 1 point Loss within 7 points - 1 point Loss greater than 7 points - 0 points |
Matches :
28 June 2014 13:00 EAT (UTC+03)(1 BP) Kenya 29–22 Namibia (1 BP)StatsStade Mahamasina, Antananarivo, Madagascar Attendance: 35,000 Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
28 June 2014 15:00 EAT (UTC+03)(1BP) Zimbabwe 57–22 MadagascarStatsStade Mahamasina, Antananarivo, Madagascar Attendance: 35,000 Referee: Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)
2 July 2014 13:00 EAT (UTC+03)(1 BP) Zimbabwe 20–24 NamibiaStatsStade Mahamasina, Antananarivo, Madagascar Referee: Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)
2 July 2014 15:00 EAT (UTC+03)(1 BP) Kenya 34–0 MadagascarStatsStade Mahamasina, Antananarivo, Madagascar Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
6 July 2014 13:00 EAT (UTC+03)Kenya 10–28 ZimbabweStatsStade Mahamasina, Antananarivo, Madagascar Referee: Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)
6 July 2014 15:00 EAT (UTC+03)Madagascar 10–89 Namibia (1 BP)StatsStade Mahamasina, Antananarivo, Madagascar Referee: Francisco Pastrana (Argentina) :