Page 73

YEAR IN REVIEW 2015 WORLD RUGBY 73At the top of the pyramid, Namibia once again stand proud after being crowned African champions for the second year in a row. An emphatic 80-6 win against Zimbabwe in the title-deciding game in Windhoek saw the Welwitschias warm up for what turned out to be their best-ever Rugby World Cup campaign in style. Namibia, Kenya and Zimbabwe will be joined in the top tier in 2016 by Uganda, who won promotion from Division 1B following a 59-10 win over Botswana, with Tunisia dropping down a level. Zambia accounted for Nigeria and Zimbabwe B to win Division 1C.In sevens, Johannesburg staged both the men’s and women’s regional qualifiers for Rio 2016. Kenya’s men secured qualification, albeit only after Dennis Ombachi had broken Zimbabwean hearts with the winning try in the dying seconds. They join South Africa as the continent’s two confirmed representatives after the Blitzboks sealed their place by finishing second in the 2014-15 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series. There was double cause for celebration for Kenya with the women’s team also making it through to Rio after tournament winners South Africa’s National Olympic Committee declined their place.With 37 unions now registered in Africa, World Rugby’s Get Into Rugby (GIR) programme continues to reach out to new audiences across the continent. More than 210,000 children enjoyed rugby-based activities delivered by 3,881 trained personnel in 250 different locations, South Africa’s total of 80,000 putting them second only to Brazil in terms of worldwide uptake. AFRICA REACHES OUT TO NEW AUDIENCES IN 2015 LEFT Senegal’s Get Into Rugby programme has introduced an increasing number of girls to the sportABOVE Kenya’s Collins Injera scored his 200th World Series try at TwickenhamThere was no shortage of action for the revamped Rugby Africa website to report on in a year when the playing calendar was busier than ever before. Get Into Rugby Festivals also ran alongside the Africa Cup Division 2 fixtures played between May and June in Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo and Lesotho.Namibia and Niger were recognised at the region’s Get Into Rugby awards for their work in this field, while a special award went to Senegal for the creation of a girls-only project. Thirty-seven per cent of all GIR participants in Africa as a whole were girls in 2015. A new initiative called ‘I also play referee’ was officially launched in June in Tunisia, with the aim of teaching children respect for their peers as well as educating them in the laws of the game.Rwanda, meanwhile, became the latest African nation to become a full member of World Rugby in November.www.rugbyafrique.comtwitter: @RugbyAfrique children engagedtrained personnellocationsfemale participants37%211,0003,881 250GET INTO RUGBY IN AFRICA IN 2015AROUND THE REGIONS | INSPIRING PARTICIPATION