Over the next 11 days eight of Africa's best teams will be competing to win the region's automatic ticket to Men's Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia.

The Rugby Africa Men's Cup returns to the Mandela National Stadium in Kampala, Uganda, for a second consecutive year and in 2025 winning the title comes with the added prize of qualification for the game's marquee tournament in two years time.

And with the Webb Ellis Cup in attendance for the opening match day on Tuesday, the participating teams will need no reminding about what's at stake. 

Zimbabwe lifted the prestigious trophy at the same ground last year, as Namibia's monopoly on the title was finally loosened, after a 29-3 win in the title decider against Algeria. 

Captain and scrum-half Hilton Mudariki admits their status as defending champions, and the prospect of a first Men's Rugby World Cup appearance since 1991, puts extra pressure on the Sables to perform.

Consistency for Zimbabwe

“It’s there,” Mudariki said. “But if we focus on things that we’ve built for the past 12 months, we’ll be okay. We know that we’ve got a target on our back, but the big thing is to focus on ourselves.

“We’ve had a bit of consistency from last year, in terms of our squad over the past 12 months, but we’ve added guys who will give us a little bit more, adding quality to the side.”

Since then, Zimbabwe have played in two internationals, 11 days apart in November, beating the United Arab Emirates 62-22 in Dubai and Korea 27-22 in Incheon.

As defending champions, the Sables have the honour of kicking off this year's tournament, against Morocco.

Morocco have returned to the top-level African competition after a seven-year absence and captain Adil Achahbar admits it could be a rude awakening for his team. 

“We are very excited to be back in the top division after a long time,” said Morocco captain Adil Achahbar.

“Zimbabwe first, in that first game of the tournament, is going to be a challenge. They are the defending champions. But I can tell you that we are ready for that one.”

Ready for the challenge

Last year's shock finalists, Algeria, overcame the Ivory Coast, another team with past Rugby World Cup pedigree, and Kenya, before a lack of big-game composure cost them against Zimbabwe.

“We need to be calmer this time around if we’re going to do better than last year,” said captain Marvyn Youcef, well aware that the destiny of the ticket to Australia will likely be decided by small margins.

Their opening opponents, Ivory Coast, are out to avenge last year's defeat. Despite entering the tournament as the lowest-ranked team of the eight in 58th place, they won't be there just to make up the numbers, insists captain Élias Coulibaly.

“Algeria is a good side, they were in the final last year,” said Coulibaly. “But a lot of things have changed and they, like everybody else, can expect a big fight from us.”

Before Zimbabwe took on the mantle of African champions, Namibia had dominated the tournament. Winners of the six previous Rugby Africa Men's Cups, the Welwitschias' hopes of another title were dashed last year by a 32-10 defeat to Zimbabwe in the semi-finals.

Namibia went into their match against Italy, a 73-6 home loss, on 27 June, without a head coach after former full-back Chrysander Botha stepped down from the role.

However, few are more experienced in the game than their Director of Rugby, the three-time Rugby World Cup participant, Jacques Burger, who will be determined to maintain the Welwitschias' ever-present Rugby World Cup record since they made their debut in 1999.

A massive test

“Definitely winning the tournament is every team’s goal,” said Namibia captain Prince Gaoseb. “We had good preparations, played Uganda, played Italy. It just depends on the day, who is eager to win. Last year one of our biggest setbacks was the set-pieces, and being clinical. It’s a very competitive tournament, and I think that is a good thing for African rugby.”

The Namibians begin their campaign against Senegal. And for Senegal captain Demba Kane, facing one of Africa’s giants is nothing short of inspiring.

“Namibia is a very good side, they are the benchmark in Africa,” Kane said. “It’s always a massive thing to test yourself against them.”

Meanwhile, hosts Uganda are going all out to create a memorable tournament on and off the pitch. While known for their hospitality, the Rugby Cranes plan to be anything but accommodating on the field. 

They begin their quest to make it to Australia 2027 with what is always a hotly-ancipated and highly competitive Elgon Cup encounter with east African rivals, Kenya.

“They always give us a hard time,” said Uganda captain Byron Oketayot. “But we are ready for whatever they have for us. We are ready for the contest, you know, this is the game of rugby, expect anything.”

Serious challenge

With the home crowd expected to show up in force, the Rugby Cranes will draw strength from the stands. “It is really special to play in front of them,” Oketayot added. “A lot of family, a lot of friends, hearing the same voices all the time. That’s always extra motivation.”

The Kenyans, on the other hand, are also psyched up for what should be one of the hardest-fought battles in the history of this famous East African rivalry. Both teams were recently in the southern part of the continent to fine-tune their preparations for this crucial qualifier.

“We had a tour of South Africa for a month, which was very good for team bonding,” said George Nyambua, the Kenya captain.

“We had a two-day break back home in Kenya to see our families after we returned from South Africa, then we came here.

"We have a slightly different team from the one we had last year; these are qualifiers and we are taking them seriously. The alignment camp we had plus the SA tour were very important.”

All 12 games will be streamed live on RugbyPass TV and on Rugby Africa's Facebook site.

Match Day 1: Tuesday, 8 July, 2025 (kick-offs local time) 

  • 10:00 – Zimbabwe v Morocco 
  • 12:00 – Algeria v Ivory Coast
  • 14:00 – Namibia v Senegal 
  • 16:00 – Kenya v Uganda 

Match Day 2: Sunday, 13 July, 2025 (kick-offs local time) 

  • 10:00 – Loser Match 2 v Loser Match 3
  • 12:00 – Loser Match 1 v Loser Match 4
  • 14:00 – Winner Match 2 v Winner Match 3
  • 16:00 – Winner Match 1 v Winner Match 4

Match Day 3: Saturday, 19 July, 2025 (kick-offs local time) 

  • 10:00 – Loser Match 5  v Loser Match 6 (7th Place)
  • 12:00 – Winner Match 5 v Winner Match 6 (5th Place)
  • 14:00 – Loser Match 7 v Loser Match 8 (3rd Place)
  • 16:00 – Winner Match 7 v Winner Match 8 (Final)