Kenya joins Canada, Germany and Hong Kong in Rugby World Cup repechage

Kenya became the last team to join Canada in the Rugby World Cup Repechage in November after falling 53-28 to Namibia in the Rugby Africa Gold Cup decider Saturday.

The victory earned Namibia, ranked 23rd in the world, the penultimate spot at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

No. 28 Kenya joins No. 21 Hong Kong, No. 22 Canada and No. 29 Germany in the last-chance tournament that runs Nov. 11 to 23 in Marseille. The round-robin winner will earn the final spot in the 20-team World Cup, slotting into Pool B alongside No. 1 New Zealand, No. 6 South Africa, No. 14 Italy and Namibia.

Germany fell into the repechage after losing a two-legged series to Samoa 108-43 on aggregate. Hong Kong joined the field by thumping the Cook Islands 77-3 on aggregate in a two-legged Asia-Oceania playoff.

The Canadian men have appeared at every Rugby World Cup since the tournament’s inception in 1987. In past years, they have booked their tournament ticket at the first round of qualifying.

The Canadian Press