Kenya Qualifies For Rio Olympics With Win At Africa 7s
By Sydney HarmonKenya won the Africa Rugby 7s Olympic Qualifier and is going to the Olympics, while the other three Semi-Finalists, Zimbabwe, Tunisia and Morocco, will enter the Repechage in June in a winner take all tournament for the last Olympic spot.
The Repechage in June will include Uruguay, Chile, Canada, Mexico, Spain, Russia, Germany, Ireland, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Sri Lanka, Tonga, Samoa, Tunisia, Morocco and Zimbabwe.
Kenya joins host Brazil, Fiji, South Africa, New Zealand, Great Britain, Argentina, United States, France, Japan and Australia who have qualified for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The Repechage winner in June will gain the last spot at the Olympics.
After day one, Kenya showed why they were the tournament favorites in gaining wins against Mauritius, Senegal and Madagascar. Their combination of power and pace provided for thrilling victories.
Zimbabwe also were undefeated after day one with wins against Nigeria, Zambia and Uganda. Namibia was the third undefeated team with wins against Morocco, Botswana and Tunisia.
In the Cup quarter-finals, Kenya then dispatched Madagascar, Zimbabwe beat Nigeria, however Namibia lost to Morocco. Tunisia would gain the other win.
In semi-final action Kenya breezed into the final with a 42-12 win over Tunisia, while Zimbabwe won 26-0 over Morocco.
The third place match participants both had already qualified for the Olympic Repechage, so pride was at stake as Morocco gained a 19-12 win against Tunisia.
The Championship would prove the most difficult match for Kenya in the tournament. Kenya would not be denied and gained an Olympic berth with a 21-17 win over Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe will also enter the Repechage in June to see if they can produce some rugby magic and gain the last spot in the games.
Bowl play-off: Senegal 10-40 Zambia & Mauritius 14-17 Botswana
9th-12th place: Botswana 24-14 Senegal & Mauritius 17-21 Zambia
11/12th: Zambia 14-26 Botswana 26 9/10th: Mauritius 40-5 Senegal 7/8th: Uganda 27-7 Nigeria 5/6th Namibia 24-17 Madagascar 3/4th: Morocco 19-12 Tunisia Final: Kenya 21-17 Zimbabwe