The Kenya national Rugby 15s side has been handed a last chance to qualify for the 2023 Rugby World Cup slated for Friday, September 8 to Saturday, October 28 in France.
The Simbas are set to play in a repechage tournament against three other teams which failed to make it during the continental qualifiers later this year. The tournament will be held in Portugal.
According to the organisers, only one nation will qualify for the World Cup.
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“Four teams from across Africa, Asia/Pacific, the Americas and Europe will contest the Final Qualification Tournament, which is being held for the second Rugby World Cup tournament running in November, 2022,”
“The winner of the round-robin tournament will secure the last remaining ticket for France 2023,” read a statement from RugbyWorldCup.com.
Kenya, who were hammered 36-0 by Namibia in the final of the African qualifiers earlier this month will play hosts Portugal, Hong Kong, and the United States. Hong Kong were beaten 42-22 by Tonga in a recent Asia/Pacific qualifiers.
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Kenya is the lowest ranked team among the countries that will grace the repechage tournament. As of July 24, the Paul Odera coached side were ranked number 33 in the world.
Tonga, which is ranked number 16, is the highest ranked team. Portugal and the United States are ranked number 20 and 19 respectively in the world.
Should Kenya Simbas win the repechage tournament, they will be guaranteed a place in Pool C. The pool currently has Fiji, Australia, Georgia and Wales.
Reigning champions South Africa and Namibia are the two African teams that have already qualified for the world cup. South Africa were offered a direct ticket based on world rankings, thus they did not have to play in the African qualifiers.
Namibia have been placed in Pool A which is considered by many as the group of death alongside former champions New Zealand, Italy, hosts France and Uruguay. South Africa’s Springboks who won the title in 2019 is the highest ranked team in Pool B. The pool also has Tonga, Romania, Scotland and Ireland.