General topic for African Rugby

[Tomster7uk Profile]

South Africa are saying they're in no position to contest the Rugby Championship for at least the first three rounds due to lack of game time because of Covid19.

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/report-south-africa-to-withdraw-from-opening-rounds-of-rugby-championship/

[victorsra Profile Website]

According to World Rugby Algeria is in Asia https://www.world.rugby/organisation/me ... associates

[Tomster7uk Profile]

According to World Rugby Algeria is in Asia https://www.world.rugby/organisation/me ... associates

What?

What on Earth are they smoking?

1. Algeria is in Africa
2. Algeria is no where near Asia.

[Chester-Donnelly Profile]

I thought it would be interesting to see how many tier 2 and 3 players were in the 7 Super Rugby Unlocked squads.

Cheetahs 3: Aranos Coetzee (prop, Namibia); Louis van der Westhuizen (hooker, Namibia); Ruben de Haas (scrum half, USA).
Lions 2: Tiaan Swanepoel (fly half, Namibia); Divan Rossouw (full back, Namibia).
Pumas 2: Darrien Landsberg (lock, Zimbabwe); Tapiwa Mafura (full back, Zimbabwe).
Sharks 1: Madosh Tambwe (wing, DR Congo).
Stormers 1: Michal Haznar (centre, Namibia)
Bulls 0
Griquas 0

[Canalina Profile]

It seems South Africa was forced to renounce to the Championship. With them, they are eight nations between the top 24 not competing in any test this autumn: South Africa, Japan, Samoa, Tonga, Usa, Canada, Namibia, Hong Kong

[victorsra Profile Website]

Burkina Faso is a new World Rugby full member https://www.world.rugby/news/603777/wor ... ew-members

[Canalina Profile]

One of the two brothers of Max Brito, Fabrice, is the coach of Ivory Coast 7s (men's team? women's team? both? I don't know).
Seeing the photos and the caption I thought he could be the son of Max, but according to wikipedia Max Brito has a brother called Fabrice so I assume the one in the photos is him

https://www.facebook.com/cotedivoirerug ... 6078657187

[victorsra Profile Website]

The Cameroon Olympic Comitee accepted their rugby federation back https://www.facebook.com/19008638435099 ... 452408868/

[armchair_expert Profile]

last week's article with details about Namibia head coach resignation
https://www.netwerk24.com/Sport/Rugby/n ... l-20201219

Namibië en nuwe breier se paaie skei

Namibië soek ’n nuwe rugbyafrigter ná die bedanking van Johan Diergaardt, wat vroeër vanjaar aangestel is om die nasionale span af te rig.

Diergaardt het aan Rapport gesê die frustrasies wat hy as breier ervaar het, het hom geen ander keuse gelaat as om te bedank nie.

Die breekpunt, sê hy, was toe hy vir ’n knieoperasie moes gaan en die Namibiese Rugbyunie (NRU) hom net 25% van sy salaris betaal het. Dít, tesame met die feit dat kontrakte nie gefinaliseer is nie en bystand nie aan spelers tydens Covid-19 gegee is nie, het die situasie ondraaglik gemaak.

“Ek het opgehou, dit het net te frustrerend geraak. Ons almal het dit moeilik gehad, niemand kan dit bevraagteken nie.

“Op 1 Oktober het ons begin met ons voorseisoense oefenprogram, wat baie geesdriftig deur ’n klomp spelers bygewoon is,” vertel Diergaardt.

“Dit het my nogal baie moed gegee. Intussen het al die strydpunte bly sloer. Die verskoning was dat dit verwys is na Wêreldrugby, wat dit nog moet goedkeur. Dit was ook so met my kontrak en my assistente se kontrakte.

“Toe ek einde November vir ’n knieoperasie gaan en hulle my net 25% van my salaris betaal, het ek besluit dis nou genoeg. Alles wat ons sedert my aanstelling gedoen het, was te goeder trou in die afwesigheid van ’n kontrak. As ek nie op siekverlof geregtig was nie, moes dit in ’n kontrak aan my uitgewys gewees het.”

Diergaardt sê die gesloer met bystand vir spelers was ook ’n groot faktor.
Ek dink nie ons spelers se waarde word raakgesien en erken nie.

“Ek dink nie ons spelers se waarde word raakgesien en erken nie. Ons spelers het swaargekry met Covid-19. Nou, nadat ek bedank het, is daar geld vir kos-bystand en geld vir taxi’s. Dis te laat, want die swaarkry is verby.”

Corrie Mensah, president van die NRU, het aan Rapport gesê hul siening is baie anders oor die saak en dat Diergaardt, en nie die NRU nie, aangedring het om eerder as ’n diensverskaffer as ’n werknemer beskou te word.

“Op grond hiervan is hy nie soos ’n werknemer ingevolge die arbeidswet op siekverlof of gewone verlofdae geregtig nie. ’n Vertrouensbreuk sou wees as die NRU die beginsels van die kontrakooreenkoms verbreek het, maar die administratiewe funksie is korrek volgens sy kontrak uitgevoer,” het Mensah aangevoer.

“Om menslikheidsredes sou ons uiteraard oop gewees het om die saak te bespreek, maar sy benadering om ’n prokureursbrief aan ons te rig en op die volle betaling aan te dring, het nie veel ruimte hiervoor gelaat nie. Ons kon regtig daaroor gepraat het, dit was werklik nie ’n rede om te bedank nie.

“Ons het volgens sy versoek nie belasting afgetrek nie, want hy wou nie as ’n werknemer beskou word nie.

“Op ’n persoonlike vlak is dit ook teleurstellend. Ek en die NRU-raad het baie kritiek in rugbykringe verduur oor die feit dat Johan ons voorkeurkandidaat was om ná Phil Davies se vertrek oor te neem.”

Mensah sê die hoofafrigter het ingestem om as “waarnemend” te dien totdat Namibië se hoëprestasietoelae van Wêreldrugby goedgekeur en van krag word.

“Die voortslepende Covid-19-pandemie het Wêreldrugby se begrotingsproses vir die vierjaarsiklus tot 2023 vertraag. Tot nou toe was ons net op ’n tussentydse noodbegroting aangewese.

“Johan was deel van al die gesprekke met Wêreldrugby en ons het eers einde November goedkeuring gekry en eers verlede week die kontrak van ons kant af geteken. Ons wag nog op ’n kopie wat hulle geteken het.”

[victorsra Profile Website]

Egypt, Lybia, Sudan and Tunisia will play the Arab 7s in February in Alexandria (Egypt) https://www.asierugby.com/post/les-eau- ... rugby-2021

[sammo Profile]

Active rugby in Tanzania with support from the Dragons
https://www.dragonsrugby.wales/news/202 ... O9O0Sm8Yvw

[IanCleverly Profile]

Looks like the Gold Cup will go back to being a 6 team competition for next year, after Rugby Afrique announced provisional schedules for this season:-

https://kawowo.com/2021/01/25/rugby-afr ... -calendar/

[victorsra Profile Website]

No, it will have 8 teams next year: https://www.rugbyafrique.com/rugby-afri ... -for-2021/



So, the RWC Qualy will be:

- Stage 1: May 2021.

9 countries eligible (TBC): Morocco (apparently suspended atm), Nigeria, Cameroon (realy back), Burkina Faso, Botswana, Rwanda, Burundi (would debut in a RWC Qualy), eSwatini and Mauritius - 1 team will advance to Stage 2.

Venue: "West Africa"... most likely Nigeria?;

- Stage 2: July 2021.

12 countries, 4 groups of 3, each one in a pre selected venue (Windhoek, Nairobi, Kampala and Tunis).

The teams are (I'm deducing, it is not written): Namibia, Kenya, Uganda, Tunisia, Algeria, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Madagascar, Senegal, Cote D'Ivoire and Ghana + Stage 1 winners;

- Stage 3: 2022. 8 countries.

[antlat Profile]

each one in a pre selected venue (Windhoek, Nairobi, Kampala and Tunis).

This statement refers to the Womens tournament, not the mens

[victorsra Profile Website]

No, both.

The Rugby Africa Cup Pools kicks off in July, with four pools of three teams each playing a Round-Robin tournament at a single venue per pool. The best two teams from each pool qualify for RAC 2022, which serves as the final round of Rugby World Cup 2023 qualifier for Africa.

The Women’s 15s runs at the same time, with each host union hosting a Women’s 15s test match between host union and a visiting or neighbouring country.

‘This year, Namibia, Kenya, Uganda and Tunisia are likely to emerge as the host teams, but the real prize goes to the winning teams, who can look forward to a fully revived Women’s 15s in 2022,’ predicts Maha Zaoui, Women’s Rugby Manager.

Interesting that Morocco should be in the Stage 2, because it finished some of these teams in the last Africa Cup, but I guess that suspension thing is the reason to be "relegated" to stage 1.

[Raven Profile]

I couldn’t find anything on this article but found it quite interesting!

https://www.dzairdaily.com/maxime-mermo ... ssion=true

I remember reading somewhere (probably in this same forum) that B.Laporte had some faith in Argelia competing for the African spot... Would this have anything to do with that? Can’t imagine it happening though. We had that same breeze back in 2017/18 when Peter de Villiers arrived in Zimbabwe and a number of “eligible players” where thrown in lists that never came into fruition!

[vino_93 Profile]

He can't play for them... Anyway he can join the staff if he wants.

[victorsra Profile Website]

Egypt won the Arab 7s: https://www.asierugby.com/post/le-liban ... -en-egypte

[victorsra Profile Website]

Does this tweet means Sudan is now part of Rugby Africa? https://twitter.com/RugbyAfrique/status ... 2996868097

And Libya back as well? https://twitter.com/RugbyAfrique/status ... 5623619584

[Canalina Profile]

A possible un-radared test match
1971, Ivory Coast v Ghana 24-3
https://twitter.com/ApsmRugby/status/13 ... 7429734401
https://www.facebook.com/cotedivoirerug ... 9397239853

Rugbyinternational.net doesn't recorded it (first Ivory Coast game in 1976, first Ghana game in 2003), I can't find anymore Espn Statsguru and RugbyData disappeared long time ago...

[Batti Profile]

Good news at last ! The Barthés trophy is confirmed to be played in Nairobi from 24th June to 4th July.

[mcruic Profile]

Egypt won the Arab 7s: https://www.asierugby.com/post/le-liban ... -en-egypte

Full results now on my website - wasn't as easy as I expected to get them - some results missing from certain reports, and some with wrong scores. Palestine defaulted on the second day (not enough players) - though some reports say Iraq beat them 24-0, this was apparently a default score and there was no match played. The whole consolation tournament (5th-8th) is missing from many online reports of the tournament.

http://theroonba.com/rugbysevens/men/2021.html
http://theroonba.com/rugbysevens/women/2021.html

[mcruic Profile]

A possible un-radared test match
1971, Ivory Coast v Ghana 24-3
https://twitter.com/ApsmRugby/status/13 ... 7429734401
https://www.facebook.com/cotedivoirerug ... 9397239853

Rugbyinternational.net doesn't recorded it (first Ivory Coast game in 1976, first Ghana game in 2003), I can't find anymore Espn Statsguru and RugbyData disappeared long time ago...

Also, a Liberia v Sierra Leone match from 23.08.1969: Mostly expats.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVWScuteF2s

[victorsra Profile Website]

So, Sudan's first ever win is a WO?

[Canalina Profile]

According to a page on facebook (Morocco Rugby News, or something similar) the suspension of moroccan federation has been protracted until the end of the year, due to the still defiant behavior of the local federation chairman ("Suspension? We don't need Rugby Africa and World Rugby", he would have said more or less).
This should mean they are out from Africa Cup and from the World Cup.
The current Morocco Federation chairman is brother of the last one, in his turn repeatedly sanctioned by Rugby Africa