Zimbabwean national rugby union team

Zimbabwe
Nickname (s)	Sables
Association	Zimbabwe Rugby Union
WR abbreviation	ZIM
WR rank	35th (50.69 points) (as of February 4, 2020) ;
home	Away
	Most international matches; Brendon Dawson (20)
	Most Points Scored; Kennedy Tsimba (72)
	Most attempts scored; Victor Olonga (8)
	First international match British and Irish Lions 24:11 Southern Rhodesia (July 30, 1910); ;
	Biggest win Botswana 10: 130 Zimbabwe (9 September 1996); ;
	Biggest defeat Namibia 80: 6 Zimbabwe (August 15, 2015); ;
	World Championship; Participations: 2

The Zimbabwean national rugby union team represents Zimbabwe in the sport of rugby union . She belongs to the third class of strength ( third tier ) and has so far participated in two world championships , in which she could not win a game.

history

The history of rugby in present-day Zimbabwe began in the late 19th century when Great Britain colonized Southern Rhodesia . In 1894 the oldest club in the country, the Queens and the Bulawayo Athletic Club, was founded . A year later, the Rhodesia Rugby Football Union was formed . In 1898, a selection from some of the country's clubs took on South Africa for the first time . The first international match was played in South Rhodesia in 1910 against the British Lions in Bulawayo . In 1928 the team played against New Zealand for the first time and lost 8:44. In the following decades, Southern Rhodesia met South Africa, the Lions and New Zealand in several games and had to admit defeat in most games. The heyday of South Rhodesian rugby followed in the 1970s, when some players were allowed to play for the "Springboks" and the country had around 50 clubs.

In 1980 the association was renamed Zimbabwe Rugby Union . The national team played their first game under a new name on July 7, 1981 against Kenya , which they won 34:24. In 1987 the team was invited to the first world championship and lost all three preliminary round matches there. In the first game against Romania , Zimbabwe narrowly missed a win with 20:21. For the 1991 World Cup , the team was able to qualify, but suffered three significant defeats there.

Zimbabwe has not qualified for another World Cup since the sport became more professional. Since then, the best players in the country have been lured away by larger nations such as South Africa or Australia and have left their homeland to play at a professional level. There are only a few clubs left and the country's infrastructure does not allow competitive league operations.

International matches

country	Games	Won	Lost	draw
Arabia	1	1	0	0
Barbarians	1	1	0	0
Botswana Botswana	1	1	0	0
Ivory Coast Ivory Coast	4th	2	2	0
France France	1	0	1	0
Georgia Georgia	3	1	2	0
Ireland Ireland	1	0	1	0
Italy Italy	3	0	3	0
Japan Japan	1	0	1	0
Kenya Kenya	9	7th	2	0
Madagascar Madagascar	5	2	2	1
Morocco Morocco	3	2	1	0
Namibia Namibia	23	3	20th	0
Nigeria Nigeria	1	1	0	0
Portugal Portugal	3	2	1	0
Romania Romania	4th	0	4th	0
Zambia Zambia	4th	2	2	0
Scotland Scotland	2	0	2	0
Senegal Senegal	1	1	0	0
Soviet Union Soviet Union	4th	2	2	0
Spain Spain	6th	2	4th	0
Tonga Tonga	1	0	1	0
Tunisia Tunisia	2	2	0	0
Uganda Uganda	6th	4th	2	0
Wales	3	0	3	0
Total	93	36	56	1