Chronicle Editor
Ronald Mashinga, Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE national rugby team, the Sables, will play in Group D with Tunisia and Ghana in the 2020 Rugby Africa Cup (RAC).
The RAC is an annual rugby tournament involving African nations organised by Rugby Africa, the governing body of rugby on the continent.
The Sables will begin their campaign by taking on Tunisia in Tunis on June 6, before facing Ghana on July 20.
The 12 teams have been divided into four groups, with each group consisting of three teams that will play against each other in a home and away basis.
The new RAC format replaces the multi-tiered gold, silver and bronze cups, with a seeded group stage followed by a knockout round.
This results in fewer matches being played and also reduces costs and travel times.
“The new format allows for more teams to compete and allows them to gain valuable match experience,” said Rugby Africa in a statement.
The top four teams from each group will meet in one venue for the final stage of the RAC, which will include two semi-finals, a play-off for third place and the final.
The semi-finals and the third-place play-off will take place on July 29, with the final set for August 1.
Namibia are the defending champions and have won the RAC championship five times in a row.
Fixtures for Group D
Tunisia vs Zimbabwe (June 6), Zimbabwe vs Ghana (June 20), Ghana vs Tunisia (July 4).
Groups
A: Namibia, Zambia, Madagascar.
B: Kenya, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire.
C: Uganda, Algeria, Senegal
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