Zimbabwe at the Rugby World Cup

Map of nations best results, excluding nations which unsuccessfully participated in qualifying tournaments.

Zimbabwe have made two Rugby World Cup appearances – in 1987 and 1991.

In the 1987 Rugby World Cup, Zimbabwe were invited as the African entrant. No other African countries were invited, as South Africa was disqualified from the tournament on the basis of the continuing racist apartheid regime.

However, Zimbabwe succeeded in getting through 1991 Rugby World Cup qualifying, and hosted the Africa qualifications. In more recent years, Namibia has tended to beat them in African qualifying rounds, and Ivory Coast has also got through.

Nation	Number of appearances	First appearance	Most recent appearance	Streak	Best result
Zimbabwe	2	1987	1991	2	No games won

By position

• 1987 Rugby World Cup Eliminated in pool stages
• 1991 Rugby World Cup Eliminated in pool stages
• 1995 Rugby World Cup Did not qualify.
• 1999 Rugby World Cup Did not qualify.
• 2003 Rugby World Cup Did not qualify.
• 2007 Rugby World Cup Did not qualify.
• 2011 Rugby World Cup Did not qualify.
• 2015 Rugby World Cup Did not qualify.

Matches

1987 Rugby World Cup

Pool 4 games –

Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	Pts
France	3	2	1	0	145	44	5
Scotland	3	2	1	0	135	69	5
Romania	3	1	0	2	61	130	2
Zimbabwe	3	0	0	3	53	151	0

23 May 1987

Romania	21–20	Zimbabwe
Tries: Paraschiv Toader Hodorca Pen: Alexandru (3)		Tries: Tsimba (2) Neill Con: Ferreira Pen: Ferreira (2)

Eden Park, Auckland Referee: Stephen Hilditch

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30 May 1987

Scotland	60–21	Zimbabwe
Tries: Tait (2) Tukalo (2) Duncan (2) Paxton (2) Oliver Hastings Jeffrey Con: Hastings (8)		Try: Buitendag Con: Grobler Pen: Grobler (5)

Athletic Park, Wellington Referee: David Burnett

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2 June 1987

France	70–12	Zimbabwe
Tries: Modin (3) Camberabero (3) Charvet (2) Rodriguez (2) Durboca Esteve Laporte Con: Camberabero (9)		Try: Kaulbach Con: Grobler Pen: Grobler (2)

Eden Park, Auckland Referee: Derek Bevan

1991 Rugby World Cup

Pool B games –

Team	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Points
Scotland	3	0	0	122	36	9
Ireland	2	0	1	102	51	7
Japan	1	0	2	77	87	5
Zimbabwe	0	0	3	31	158	3

6 October 1991

Ireland	55–11	Zimbabwe
Tries: Robinson (4), Popplewell (2), Geoghegan, Curtis Con: Keyes (4) Pen: Keyes (5)		Tries: Dawson, Schultz Pen: Ferreira

Landsdowne Road, Dublin Referee: Keith Lawrence

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9 October 1991

Scotland	51–12	Zimbabwe
Tries: Tukalo (3), Turnbull, S. Hastings, Stanger, Weir, White Con: Dods (5) Pen: Dods (2) Drop: Wylie		Tries: Garvey (2) Con: Currin (2)

Murrayfield, Edinburgh Referee: Don Reordan

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14 October 1991

Japan	52–8	Zimbabwe
Tries: Yoshida (2), Mashuho (2), Kutsuki (2), Horikoshi, Luaiufi, Matsuo Con: Hosokawa (2) Pen: Hosokawa (4)		Tries: Tsimba, Nguruve

Ravenhill, Belfast Referee: Rene Hourquet

1995 Rugby World Cup

Did not qualify.

1999 Rugby World Cup

Did not qualify.

2003 Rugby World Cup

Did not qualify.

2007 Rugby World Cup

Did not qualify.

2011 Rugby World Cup

Did not qualify.

2015 Rugby World Cup

Did not qualify.

Overall record

Country	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	%
Romania	1	0	0	1	20	21	−1	0
Ireland	1	0	0	1	11	55	−44	0
Japan	1	0	0	1	8	52	−44	0
France	1	0	0	1	12	70	−58	0
Scotland	2	0	0	2	33	113	−80	0
TOTAL	6	0	0	6	105	373	−268	0

Hosting

So far Zimbabwe has not hosted any World Cup games.

References

• Davies, Gerald (2004) The History of the Rugby World Cup (Sanctuary Publishing Ltd, (ISBN 1860746020)
• Farr-Jones, Nick, (2003). Story of the Rugby World Cup, Australian Post Corporation, (ISBN 0-642-36811-2)