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The 12 women’s African teams chasing qualification for Challenger Series
By Finn Morton
In a historic first for West Africa, Ghana is set to host the Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens Tournament, which is also a qualifier for the HSBC Sevens Challenger Series 2025. There are a dozen teams that will compete over two days at the University of Ghana on November 9-10.
Organised in partnership with the Government of Ghana, 12 teams will come together, but only one can stand above the rest as winners. While this tournament will determine this year’s champions of Africa, there’s also plenty to celebrate for those who place second and third.
The top three teams will secure their place on World Rugby’s second-tier Challenger Series, which sits behind the premier international circuit, the HSBC SVNS Series. That makes this an important step for teams who have an ambition to play in the top flight competition.
Defending champions South Africa headline the event that also includes Kenya, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Ghana, Mauritius, Uganda, Zambia, Senegal and Cote D’Ivoire. Entry into the University of Ghana’s Rugby Stadium is free for this event.
“I think the youth is actually good for our senior players, that gives them much more energy that they need so hopefully they can blend it together and make something special,” South Africa assistant coach Cecil Afrika said in a video.
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“There’s always pressure. I think for us, it’s the relative focus on us, understanding where we’re at as a team and where we’re working towards.
“We’re not trying to focus on external pressure, there’s always going to be pressure… that’s our sole focus, focusing on us and where we need to be and what we need to do that we give ourselves an opportunity to quality for the Challenger Series and then work from there.”
This is a milestone tournament for Ghana as it reflects the growing standing of rugby union in the West African nation. It’ll be held at the Rugby Stadium, which is also the region’s first purpose-built rugby venue – having been completed ahead of the 2023 African Games.
All 34 matches will be available for live streaming on RugbyPass TV, and it’s free for fans to register for that platform. The tournament will get underway with Zambia taking on Senegal at 9:00 am local time (GMT) on Saturday, November 9.
POOL A: South Africa, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso
POOL B: Kenya, Madagascar, Ghana, Mauritius
POOL C: Uganda, Zambia, Senegal, Cote D’Ivoire
Matchday 1
• Game 1: Zambia vs Senegal (9:00)
• Game 2: Uganda vs Cote d’Ivoire (9:22)
• Game 3: Ghana vs Madagascar (9:44)
• Game 4: Kenya vs Mauritius (10:06)
• Game 5: Tunisia vs Zimbabwe (10:28)
• Game 6: South Africa vs Burkina Faso (10:50)
• Game 7: Zambia vs Côte d'Ivoire (11:44)
• Game 8: Uganda vs Senegal (12:06)
• Game 9: Madagascar vs Mauritius (12:28)
• Game 10: Kenya vs Ghana (12:50)
• Game 11: Tunisia vs Burkina Faso (13:12)
• Game 12: South Africa vs Zimbabwe (13:34)
• Game 13: Senegal vs Cote d’Ivoire (14:50)
• Game 14: Uganda vs Zambia (15:12)
• Game 15: Kenya vs Madagascar (15:34)
• Game 16: Zimbabwe vs Burkina Faso (15:56)
• Game 17: South Africa vs Tunisia (16:18)
• Game 18: Ghana vs Mauritius (16:40)
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