Zimbabwe at the Rugby World Cup

The Zimbabwe national rugby union team has appeared at two Rugby World Cups – in 1987 and 1991 - and qualified for the upcoming 2027 tournament.

In 1987, Zimbabwe was the only African nation invited to compete; South Africa was disqualified from the tournament due to a sporting boycott adopted by the international community in response to apartheid. Four years later, Zimbabwe succeeded in getting through qualifying, and hosted the Africa qualifications. In more recent years, the Namibia national rugby union team has generally defeated Zimbabwe in African qualifying rounds.

Nation	Number of appearances	First appearance	Most recent appearance	Streak	Best result
Zimbabwe	2	1987	1991	2	No games won

Rugby World Cup record											Qualification
Year	Round	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	Squad	Head coach		Pos	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA
1987	Pool stage	3	0	0	3	53	151	Squad	B. Murphy		Invited
1991	Pool stage	3	0	0	3	31	158	Squad	I. Buchanan		1st	3	3	0	0	62	12
1995	Did not qualify										3rd	6	3	0	3	169	120
1999											3rd	5	2	0	3	124	95
2003											2nd	2	1	0	1	82	45
2007											P/O	4	2	0	2	55	84
2011											3rd	1	0	0	1	21	35
2015											P/O	6	3	0	3	175	126
2019											5th	10	2	1	7	250	319
2023											P/O	4	3	0	1	253	53
2027	Qualified										1st	6	6	0	0	185	92
2031	To be determined										To be determined
Total	—	6	0	0	6	84	309	—	—		—	47	25	1	21	1376	991
Champions   Runners–up   Third place   Fourth place   Home venue

Pool 4

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	T	Pts	Qualification
France	3	2	1	0	145	44	+101	25	5[a]	Knockout stage
Scotland	3	2	1	0	135	69	+66	22	5[a]
Romania	3	1	0	2	61	130	−69	6	2
Zimbabwe	3	0	0	3	53	151	−98	5	0

23 May 1987

Romania	21–20	Zimbabwe
Try: Paraschiv Toader Hodorcă Pen: Alexandru (3)		Try: Tsimba (2) Neill Con: Ferreira Pen: Ferreira (2)

Eden Park, Auckland Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Stephen Hilditch (Ireland)

30 May 1987

Scotland	60–21	Zimbabwe
Try: Tait (2) Tukalo (2) Duncan (2) Paxton (2) Oliver Hastings Jeffrey Con: Hastings (8)		Try: Buitendag Con: Grobler Pen: Grobler (5)

Athletic Park, Wellington Attendance: 12,000 Referee: David Burnett (Ireland)

2 June 1987

France	70–12	Zimbabwe
Try: Modin (3) Camberabero (3) Charvet (2) Rodriguez (2) Dubroca Estève Laporte Con: Camberabero (9)		Try: Kaulback Con: Grobler Pen: Grobler (2)

Eden Park, Auckland Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Derek Bevan (Wales)

Pool 2

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Scotland	3	3	0	0	122	36	+86	6
Ireland	3	2	0	1	102	51	+51	4
Japan	3	1	0	2	77	87	−10	2
Zimbabwe	3	0	0	3	31	158	−127	0

6 October 1991

Ireland	55–11	Zimbabwe
Tries: Robinson (4), Popplewell (2), Geoghegan, Curtis Con: Keyes (4) Pen: Keyes (5)		Tries: Dawson, Schultz Pen: Ferreira

Lansdowne Road, Dublin Referee: Keith Lawrence (New Zealand)

9 October 1991

Scotland	51–12	Zimbabwe
Tries: Tukalo (3), Turnbull, S. Hastings, Stanger, Weir, White Con: Dods (5) Pen: Dods (2) Drop: Wylie		Tries: Garvey (2) Con: Currin (2)

Murrayfield, Edinburgh Referee: Don Reordan (United States)

14 October 1991

Japan	52–8	Zimbabwe
Tries: Yoshida (2), Mashuho (2), Kutsuki (2), Horikoshi, Luaiufi, Matsuo Con: Hosokawa (2) Pen: Hosokawa (4)		Tries: Tsimba, Nguruve

Ravenhill, Belfast Referee: Rene Hourquet (France)

Did not qualify.

Did not qualify.

Did not qualify.

Did not qualify.

Did not qualify.

Did not qualify.

Did not qualify.

Did not qualify.

Zimbabwe qualified for the 2027 World Cup after winning the 2025 Rugby Africa Cup. Their pool will be announced in December 2025.

Country	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	+/−	%
Romania	1	0	0	1	20	21	−1	0
Ireland	1	0	0	1	11	55	−44	0
Japan	1	0	0	1	8	52	−44	0
France	1	0	0	1	12	70	−58	0
Scotland	2	0	0	2	33	113	−80	0
Total	6	0	0	6	105	373	−268	0

Most points in a tournament

• 53 (1987)
• 31 (1991)

Most points scored in a game

• 21 vs  Scotland (1987)
• 20 vs  Romania (1987)
• 12 vs  Scotland (1991)
• 12 vs  France (1987)

Biggest winning margin

• n/a

Most points conceded in a game

• 70 vs  France (1987)
• 60 vs  Scotland (1987)
• 55 vs  Ireland (1991)
• 52 vs  Japan (1991)
• 51 vs  Scotland (1991)

Biggest losing margin

• 58 vs  France (1987)
• 44 vs  Ireland (1991)
• 44 vs  Japan (1991)
• 39 vs  Scotland (1987)
• 39 vs  Scotland (1991)

Most tries scored in a game

• 3 vs  Romania (1987)
• 2 vs  Scotland (1991)
• 2 vs  Ireland (1991)
• 2 vs  Japan (1991)

Most appearances

• 6 Michael Martin (1987, 1991)
• 5 Richard Tsimba (1987, 1991)
• 4 Andy Ferreria (1987, 1991)
• 4 Craig Brown (1987, 1991)
• 4 Alex Nicholis (1987, 1991)

Most points overall

• 25 Marthinus Grobler (1987)
• 12 Richard Tsimba (1987, 1991)
• 11 Andy Ferreria (1987, 1991)
• 8 Adrian Garvey (1991)

Most points in a game

• 17 vs  Scotland – Marthinus Grobler (1987)
• 8 vs  Scotland – Adrian Garvey (1991)
• 8 vs  Romania – Andy Ferreria (1987)
• 6 vs  Romania – Richard Tsimba (1987)

Most tries overall

• 2 Richard Tsimba (1987, 1991)
• 2 Adrian Garvey (1991)

Most penalty goals

• 7 Marthinus Grobler (1987)
• 3 Andy Ferreria (1987, 1991)

Most penalty goals in a game

• 5 vs  Scotland – Marthinus Grobler (1987)
• 2 vs  France – Marthinus Grobler (1987)
• 2 vs  Romania – Andy Ferreria (1987)
• 1 vs  Ireland – Andy Ferreria (1991)

• Davies, Gerald (2004). The History of the Rugby World Cup. Sanctuary Publishing. ISBN 1860746020.
• Farr-Jones, Nick (2003). Story of the Rugby World Cup. Australian Post Corporation. ISBN 0-642-36811-2.