Namibia were comprehensive winners over the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday. The result of the Africa 2 vs Asia 2 play-off sees the Welwitschias advancing in Rugby World Cup 2027 qualifying. Namibia have booked a spot in the Rugby World Cup 2027 Repechage. The African country joins Belgium to have two of the four repechage places now confirmed.
The winner of the four-team repechage tournament will qualify as the 24th, and final, competitor for Australia 2027. The 2027 tournament will be contain 24 teams, four more than the total at Rugby World Cups 1999-2023 and eight more than from Rugby World Cups 1987-1995.
Namibia played in all twenty-team Rugby World Cups. The Welwitschias debuted in 1999, becoming the fourth African country to compete at a Rugby World Cup. Zimbabwe compete at Rugby World Cups 1987b and 1991, Cotê d’Ivoire at Rugby World Cup 1995 and South Africa at all tournaments from 1995 onwards.
Zimbabwe’s win over Namibia last weekend ended a 34 year wait. The Sables booked a spot in a third Rugby World Cup with a 30-28 nail-bitting win over Namibia. That result send Namibia to the play-off against the UAE.
Namibia made light-work of the UAE in the Africa 2 vs Asia 2 play-off. Played at the Mandela National Stadium, in Namboole, Uganda, Namibia were 86-29 winners. It was a battle between the 27th and 39th ranked teams in the official World Rankings.
Belgium, who have never qualified for a Rugby World Cup are ranked higher than Namibia in 22nd. Namibia will also have stiffer competition from the other teams who compete in the repechage tournament. Canada (25) and Brazil (28) are cases in points.
