Zimbabwe’s Sables beat Kenya Simbas in Africa Rugby Cup semi-final

By Pulse Sports Kenya 

KENYA Simbas have missed out on the 2027 Rugby World Cup after falling to Zimbabwe in the Africa Cup semi-final, having thrown away their halftime advantage.

Kenya Simbas’ dream of earning an early ticket to the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia suffered a major setback when they lost 29-23 to Zimbabwe in the Africa Cup semi-final on Sunday.

Kenya took on Zimbabwe in the second semi-final at the Namboole grounds in Kampala knowing a place in the final was a stake against Namibia with the winners of the cup set to seal a ticket to the 2027 World Cup.

However, they started off badly as Zimbabwe took an early lead although Kenya pulled one back when Eugene Sifuna touched down for 5-5.

Zimbabwe would get a penalty shortly after which was well-converted before Kenya went a man down when Griffin Chao was sinbinned for a rough tackle.

Kenya Simbas Let Halftime Lead Slip

In the 19th minute, Jone Kubu converted a penalty for Kenya to level the scores 8-8 but Hilton Mudariki gave the Sables a 13-8 lead following his try.

Kubu pulled three points back for Kenya with another well-taken kick for 13-11 and on the stroke of halftime, Simbas went ahead when Chao got into space and ran across the pitch to score a try. Kubu converted for 18-13 in favour of Kenya at halftime.

After the break, Zimbabwe stayed patient until they smelt blood and went for it. With just over 20 minutes remaining, the Sables started forcing mistakes from the Simbas and they took full advantage.

From a maul, Kenya’s Bethuel Anami failed to hold onto the ball as the Sables dispossessed him to score before Ian Prior converted for 20-18.

Prior then started his final act that killed off Kenya completely. A drop kick from him saw Zimbabwe move ahead 23-18 with the Simbas now struggling with basic ball-handling errors and knock-ons that proved costly.

Prior had another penalty for 26-18 in favour of Zimbabwe and with two minutes to go, his kick extinguished Kenya as the Sables moved ahead 29-18.

A last-minute try from Teddy Akala was not enough to rescue Kenya as the referee blew the hooter to leave them crestfallen and out of contention for a place at the World Cup.

Zimbabwe will now play Namibia in the Africa Cup final on Saturday July 19 with the winner earning a direct ticket to the World Cup while the losers will try their luck via the repechage.

For Kenya, it is back to the drawing board yet again with another missed opportunity as a place at the World Cup proves elusive once more.