Zimbabwe’s Men’s XV, known as the Sables, have dared to dream and reached their first Rugby World Cup since 1991, by defeating Namibia 30-28 in an incredibly tense and close final befitting the occasion at Mandela National Stadium in Kampala, Uganda.
Zimbabwe’s Men’s XV, known as the Sables, have dared to dream and reached their first Rugby World Cup since 1991, by defeating Namibia 30-28 in an incredibly tense and close final befitting the occasion at Mandela National Stadium in Kampala, Uganda.
In doing so, they also retained the Rugby Africa Cup which they won last year to end the Welwitschias firm grip on the continental trophy and that victory was their first over their rivals in 23 years, and the first time they won the Africa Cup in 12 years.
Before heading into the final, their talisman and top points scorer Ian Prior was carrying a heavy responsibility, but he put in a MVP tournament performance to help his side lift the trophy and book their ticket to Australia in 2027, where he has played so much of his career. The flyhalf scored 15 points and the 34-year-old halfback will now target the next two years.
Sables Captain Hilton Mudariki was inspired and has led the team to 13 match unbeaten run and only a 4th win over Namibia in 35 attempts, said, “This is for the over 15 million people back home and around the world. It is a lot to take in at the moment but I am very happy that we remained focused and treated each game like it was our last.”
Godfrey Muzanargwo was named the player of the match in the final but the side was littered with heroes as they held on for a nervy final quarter to achieve their goals.
Namibia’s journey is not over. They were beaten by a better team but only just, and they need to refocus as they will play the UAE (second-placed team from the Asia Rugby Championship) at the same ground next week on 26 July. The winner of that one-off tie will progress to the Final Qualification Tournament for a final opportunity to secure their spot in Australia.
Namibia have attended the previous seven Rugby World Cups going back to 1999 and before this defeat had never lost a World Cup qualifier on African soil.
The Zimbabwe Sables were behind early as Namibia took the lead through a penalty but Prior equalled the scores shortly after and then took the lead with a second penalty. It was all tied at 6-6 after the opening quarter as the two sides climbed into each other physically.
Sables vice-captain Kudzai “The Enforcer” Mashawi was at the core of that physicality and he scored the first try as he powered through defenders and Prior’s conversion meant a lead of 13–6.
Namibia slotted a third penalty but then were down to 14 with a yellow card to scrumhalf Jacques Theron and Prior added three more with his boot.
The half ended with the Sables going down to 14 as Jason Fraser was yellow carded and Namibia scored their first try to make it 16–16 at the break.
The second half saw plenty of errors and poor discipline but Zimbabwe struck first to score a second try and lead 23–16 through lock Godfrey Muzanargwo, and Brendan Mudzekenyedzi added a third to extend the lead to 30–16.
Namibia was not done and struck back near immediately down the left wing through Jay-Cee Nel to close the gap to 30-21 as the Sables had struggled with the kick reception all game, allowing the team in blue back into the contest. With less than ten minutes to go, Namibia scored another as the score stood at 30-28, but that's how it remained as the Zimbabwe defence held til the final whistle, and the contrasting emotions from the two sides were clear to see.
The last time Zimbabwe was at the Rugby World Cup, they lost their three matches against Ireland (55-11), Scotland (51-12) and Japan (52-8).
The Rugby World Cup 2027 Draw is scheduled for December 2025, where all of the teams will find out their pool opponents in the expanded 24-team tournament.
