Kenya Simbas stayed second in the Africa Gold Cup after beating visiting Zimbabwe Sables 45-36 at the RFUEA grounds in Nairobi.
The Simbas bagged four points and now have 8 to stay second, seven less than defending champions Namibia, who overwhelmed Morocco 63-7 away in Casablanca.
Globally, Kenya remained stagnant at position 28 and did not add any points to the 56.30 attained after beating hosts Morocco 28-24 on June 23.
Simba’s ranking was not affected due to its significant high position compared to Zimbabwe who are sitting at position 44.
During Saturday’s match, the Simbas placed a brilliant display against Zimbabwe in the opening half at RFUEA where they led 33-17 at the break.
Zimbabwe came on a strong side in the second stanza to score 19 points but debutant Dalmus Chituyi scored two crucial tries at the death to save sloppy Kenya Simbas their blushes.
After the match, Kenya Simbas assistant coach Murray Roulston expressed his satisfaction with the side’s performance adding that he expect the boys to do better in the next fixture.
“Although we lost three tries, it was a good performance in the end,” Roulston said.
“We have had a short time to train for the tournament but the boys have the potential to do better.”
Kenya will host Uganda next on July 7, in a fixture that doubles as the Elgon Cup return leg, while third-placed Zimbabwe, which last qualified for the World Cup in 1991, will entertain Tunisia away.
The 2018 Africa Gold Cup winner will be established according to the rankings at the end of the competition based on results of the matches, the number of points and other criteria.
Runners-up will head to global repechage in November for the last chance to qualify for the World Cup. They will play Canada, the loser of Samoa/Germany and winner of Hong Kong/Cook Islands.
The last team in 2018 Africa Gold Cup will be relegated in the Rugby Africa Silver Cup in 2019 and be replaced by the winner of the 2018 Silver Cup in the 2019 Gold Cup.
Africa Gold Cup Standings as of July 2
1.Namibia 15
2.Kenya 8
3.Morocco 3
4.Zimbabwe 2
5.Uganda 0
6.Tunisia 0
Rugby Africa Gold Cup Results, Fixtures
16 June 2018
Zimbabwe 23 Morocco 23
Namibia 55 Uganda 6
23 June 2018
Namibia 118 Tunisia 0
Morocco 24 Kenya 28
30 June 2018
Kenya 45 Zimbabwe 36
Morocco 7 Namibia 63
Remaining Fixtures
7 July 2018
Kenya v Uganda
Tunisia v Zimbabwe
4 August 2018
Uganda v Tunisia
Zimbabwe v Namibia
11 August 2018
Uganda v Morocco
Kenya v Tunisia
18 August 2018
Uganda v Zimbabwe
Namibia v Kenya
Tunisia v Morocco
