The date and location of the men’s Rugby World Cup 2023 Final Qualification Tournament have been confirmed.
Kenya 15s will compete for a place in the World Cup in France against Hong Kong, Portugal, and the United States of America from November 6 to 18.
The tournament will be played in a round-robin format over three match days (November 6, 12, and 18) at Dubai’s The Sevens Stadium.
A round robin format refers to a competition in which each competitor plays each other in turn.
The team with the most points at the end of the tournament will be awarded the 20th and final spot in France. In Pool C, the winner will be joined by Wales, Australia, Fiji, and Georgia.
“The four participating teams have proven their worth during a challenging qualifying process that started in March 2021 and they will give their absolute best to join the France 2023 adventure. Rugby fans worldwide can expect an outstanding and hard-fought tournament,” said World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont.
Sir Beaumont went on to explain why they chose Sevens Stadium as the venue for the tournament, citing it as a neutral venue with world-class infrastructure.
Kenya lost 36-0 to Namibia in Africa’s qualifying competition, denying them automatic qualification.
Wian Conradie’s hat-trick of tries on the night earned his team a spot in the global showpiece.
In the 17th minute, hooker Torsten van Jaarsveld powered through Kenya’s defense before passing to scrum-half Damian Stevens, who linked with Conradie to cross the line.
The resulting conversion was missed when flyhalf Cliven Loubser went wide, but he made amends with a penalty a few minutes later to make it 10-0.
Namibia took advantage of Kenya’s errors just before halftime when they were awarded a five-metre scrum. Adriaan Booysen broke through the scrum, only to feed Conradie for his second try of the day. At halftime, the score was 15-0.
Conradie completed his hat-trick in the final two minutes before Namibia added a fourth through captain Johan Deysel. The game is over.
