NAIROBI, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Four countries have come together to revive the Victoria Cup following the cancellation of Africa Rugby Gold Cup.
Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Zambia will play in a round robin format in the rugby 15s to boost their international exposure in the Victoria Cup starting June 22.
The Victoria Cup previously featured Kenya and Zimbabwe between 2002 and 2003 before it was scrapped in 2004. This time around, it will feature Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe and new participant Zambia. Rugby World Cup-bound Namibia is not part of the competition.
Kenya's head coach Paul Odera said the competition is important as it will help sharpen the team and keep the players competitive in a transitional year.
"It's good to have four games for the team as it will grow our young team and enable them to face the best on the continent," said Odera on Monday.
The Elgon Cup clash between Kenya and Uganda in Kisumu on Saturday will double up as Victoria Cup opener for the two teams.
The return leg match will be played on July 13 in Kampala. Kenya will then host Zimbabwe on July 6 with the return leg on July 20 in Harare. Kenya's last away match is against Zambia on July 27 with the return leg set for Aug. 17.
Following the cancellation of the Gold Cup, Rugby Africa has also unveiled a new competition format where the 16 best African teams will compete in a truly continental rugby championship made up of 20 matches divided into three stages.
"We are completely revising our system of competition. By introducing this new format, we hope to forge new partnerships that will allow us to improve our game every year," said Khaled Babbou, president of Rugby Africa.
Starting from November 2019, 16 teams will compete in the new Rugby Africa Cup (RAC) with an aim to qualify for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in 2022.
The top 16 teams based on the African ranking will compete in a single coordinated competition until the last two face each other in the final.
The first stage consists of a qualifying round where the winner of each of these four matches will progress to the group phase.
In this second stage, the 12 teams are divided into four pools with teams playing against each other in a home and away game. The winner of each group will progress to the final tournament of the RAC.
The top four teams from Africa 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, ultimately, the final to decide who will be the African champions.
"This arrangement gives every team a chance to make it to the finals and will reward merit and performance. The teams that are eliminated in the first round will have another chance in November 2020 to try and re-qualify," said Andrew Owor, vice president of Rugby Africa.
