Zimbabwe on Sunday won their third Rugby Africa Sevens Cup title after downing Kenya 15-7 in the final at Jemmal Stadium in Monatsir, Tunisia.
The Zambezi Cheetahs had beaten Uganda 24-12 in the semis, while Kenya thrashed Madagascar 36-5 in the other last-four encounter.
In the final, Gilbert Nyamutsamba’s charges led 7-5 at half time with a converted try from Shingirai Katsvere.
Kenya had responded with an unconverted try at the stroke of half time through Brian Wahinya.
A minute after the break, Tafadzwa Chitokwindo extended Zimbabwe’s lead after he outpaced Kenyan defense as he combined with Takudzwa Kumadiro for his team’s second try that was unconverted.
The pacy winger, Chitokwindo, added the third try with a minute and a half left on the clock to win it for the physical but composed Zimbabwe side.
The victory earned Cheetahs a place at three World Series tournaments that include the Cape Town, Dubai and Hong Kong Sevens by the virtue of winning Africa title.
Uganda took bronze after edging out a stubborn Madagascar 24-19 in extra time.
Veteran speedster Justin Kimono went over at the corner with an unconverted try to tie the game at 19-19.
A yellow card to a Madagascar player handed Uganda the advantage, and after a few phases from wing to wing Adrian Kasito sliced through to score the winning try.
The win means Uganda will once again head to the World Sevens Series qualifying tournament in Hong Kong for a chance to be a core team in the 2019/2020 season.
The 2018 edition of the Africa men’s rugby sevens tournament saw 12 teams from all over the continent who included Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Zambia, Tunisia, Senegal, Morocco, Botswana, Ghana, Mauritius, Namibia competing for the top prize.
Fixtures/Results
Cup Quarter-final
Kenya 33 Zambia 7
Uganda 14 Tunisia 10
Zimbabwe 19 Senegal 0
Madagascar 28 Morocco 10
Placement Games – 9th- 12th Semi-finals
Namibia 14 Botswana 0
Ghana 40 Mauritius 0
5th-8th Semi-finals
Zambia 42 Morocco 14
Tunisia 12 Senegal 7
Cup Semi-finals
Kenya 36 Madagascar 5
Uganda12 Vs Zimbabwe 24
Finals
11th/12th ranking:
Mauritius 0 Botswana 12
Bowl Final
Namibia 24 Ghana 14
7th/8th Final
Senegal 26 Morocco 24
Plate Final
Zambia 24 Tunisia 14
Bronze Final
Madagascar 19 Uganda 24
Main Cup final:
Kenya 5 Zimbabwe 17
