Madagascar national rugby union team
Encyclopedia
The Madagascar national rugby union team represents Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

 in the sport of rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

. They are one of the countries in Africa where rugby is more popular but have thus far not qualified for a Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....

. They also compete annually in the Africa Cup
Africa Cup
The Africa Cup is an annual rugby union tournament involving African nations, organised by the Confederation of African Rugby . The tournament was first held in 2000, and has since been contested on an annual basis...

, and were runners-up to Uganda
Uganda national rugby union team
The Uganda national rugby union team are a national sporting side of Uganda, representing them at rugby union. Rugby union was introduced by the British during colonial rule and Uganda played their first international game against Kenya in 1958...

 in 2007.

History

Madagascar played their first ever international rugby match in 1970, where they met Italy
Italy national rugby union team
The Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is also known as the Azzurri . Italy have been playing international rugby since the late 1920s, and since 2000 compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland,...

, losing 9 points to 17. The second of the series of two games was also won by Italy, 6 points to 9. The team got their first international win during 1987 when they defeated Kenya
Kenya national rugby union team
The Kenya national rugby union team is the Kenyan national team in Rugby. it is controlled by the Kenya Rugby Football Union.The team participates Confederation of African Rugby tournaments, but has never qualified for the Rugby World Cup....

 22 to 16.

During 2001 Madagascar competed for the first time in the Africa qualification tournaments
2003 Rugby World Cup - Africa qualification
In qualification for the 2003 Rugby World Cup, there was one position for an African nation, as well as the possibility of repechage qualification...

 for the 2003 Rugby World Cup
2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World...

 to be held in Australia. They started off in Pool B of Round 1, where they contested matches against Botswana
Botswana national rugby union team
The Botswana national rugby union team represents Botswana in the sport of rugby union. Botswana have thus far not played in a Rugby World Cup, but have participated in qualifying tournaments.-History:...

 and Swaziland
Swaziland national rugby union team
The Swaziland national rugby union team represent Swaziland in the sport of rugby union. They are ranked as a tier-three nation by the International Rugby Board...

. They won both their games and finished at the top of the pool to advance to the next round. In Round 2 they defeated Kenya and Cameroon
Cameroon national rugby union team
The Cameroon national rugby union team represent Cameroon in the sport of rugby union. They are ranked as a tier-three nation by the International Rugby Board . Cameroon have thus far not qualified for a Rugby World Cup, but have competed in qualifying tournaments...

 to secure the top finish and advance to Round 3, which took place in 2002. Madagascar made their exit in Round 3, losing to Namibia
Namibia national rugby union team
The Namibian rugby union team, nicknamed the Welwitschias or Biltongboere, represents Namibia at rugby union. Although they are a tier-three nation in the International Rugby Board tier system, the team have participated in all three Rugby World Cup competitions since their first appearance in 1999...

 and Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe national rugby union team
The Zimbabwe national rugby union team is the rugby union team representing Zimbabwe. They are considered to be a third tier rugby union nation...

.

Madagascar attempted to qualify for the 2007 Rugby World Cup
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...

 in France. They started off in Pool 2 of Round 1b of the qualifying tournament
2007 Rugby World Cup - Africa qualification
In qualifying for the 2007 Rugby World Cup, there is one place available for African teams, and one place in the repechage. In the group rounds, there are three points awarded for a win, two for a draw, and one for a loss...

, where they were grouped with Kenya and Uganda
Uganda national rugby union team
The Uganda national rugby union team are a national sporting side of Uganda, representing them at rugby union. Rugby union was introduced by the British during colonial rule and Uganda played their first international game against Kenya in 1958...

. After drawing with Kenya, they lost to Uganda and finished third in the standings. They were semi-finalists at the 2006 Africa Cup
2006 Africa Cup
The 2006 Africa Cup was the seventh edition of highest level rugby union tournament in Africa. In this edition, the tournament expanded from nine nations to twelve leading to a change in the format of the tournament which now includes four pools of three teams...

, and losing finalists in 2005 and 2007.

Madagascar also failed to qualify for the 2011 Rugby World Cup
2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005...

.

World Cup record

  • 1987 - Not invited
  • 1991 - 1999 - Did not enter
  • 2003 - 2011 - Did not qualify

External links

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