THE Confederation of African Rugby (CAR) yesterday released the dates for this year’s CAR African Cup Division 1A tournament set for Madagascar in July.
REPORT BY DANIEL NHAKANISO SPORTS REPORTER
According to CAR’S official 2013 calendar seen by NewsDay Sport, the annual rugby tournament, which is reserved for the continent’s top tier teams besides South Africa, has been slated for July 24-28 at the Municipal Stadium in the capital city of Antananarivo in front of an expected crowd of around 40 000 fans in the rugby-mad nation.
Zimbabwe’s senior rugby side, affectionately known as the Sables, will go into the tournament as the defending champions after winning their first continental title in Tunisia last year.
The other three teams in the top group are the hosts Madagascar, Kenya and Uganda.
The Madagascar Makis — affectionately named after the island’s national animal, a species of the legendary lemur — are the new team in the top tier group after famously beating African giants Namibia in front of as more than 35 000 fans in the Mahamasina Stadium.
The Makis replaced Tunisia who were relegated to the second tier Division 1B after finishing bottom of the four-team log at last year’s edition. The four-team tournament will get underway with the semi-finals slated for July 27, which will be followed by the third/fourth place playoff and final on July 28.
The Sables will go into the tournament as strong favourites to retain their title, but are expected to be given some tough competition by the vastly improved Madagascar team.
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The Sables will be desperate to retain their place in the continent’s top tier group as the winner of that group in 2014 will automatically qualify for the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England.
The runner-up from Division 1A in 2014 competition will have a second chance of making it to Rugby World Cup via the 2015 Repechage process and with South Africa automatic qualifiers via their position at New Zealand 2011, there is the possibility that Africa could have three representatives at Rugby World Cup 2015.
The Sables are expected to begin their preparations for the continental competition in April with a one-off test against Hong Kong in the capital. The Brendan Dawsoncoached side could also play another friendly against a South African provincial side in the lead-up to the Africa Cup competition.
Official CAR 2013 Calendar Africa Cup Division A – (Zimbabwe, Uganda, Kenya and Madagascar) – July 24-28 (Madagascar) Africa Cup Division 1B – (Tunisia, Namibia, Senegal, Botswana) – June 11-15 (Senegal) Africa Cup Division 1C – (Morocco, Ivory Coast, Mauritius, Nigeria, Zambia) – June 23-29 9Ivory Coast)
