The Zimbabwe Sables were crowned Africa’s champions after defeating Algeria 29-3 in the final played at Mandela National Stadium in Namboole on Sunday.

Zimbabwe had a fast start to the game with winger Victor Burwe scoring two crisp tries in the first half that set the champions on the path to victory.

The first try was a thing of beauty, with the Sables’ backline going expansive from one side to the other. Full-back Takudzwa Musingwini set Burwe up with a chicken wing pass, and the winger shook off a couple of Algerians to ground under the posts. Musingwini made no mistake with the conversion.

Algeria called for the tee after Zimbabwe was penalized for diving into the ruck, and the leading points scorer of the tournament, Serge Caminati, split the posts from about 50 meters out.

With nearly 30 minutes played, Zimbabwe was celebrating again. Aiden Burnett collected from the base of the scrum, passed to skipper Hilton Mudariki, who carried through ten meters before freeing up Burwe into space on the blind side to complete the move.

The second half started off cold, with Musingwini not finding his bearings in the first points opportunity, and Caminati never finding the target for the rest of the game.

Zimbabwe, however, changed the kicker, with Tapiwa Mafura taking over kicking duties with about fifteen minutes to play. The fly-half converted a penalty to take the Sables to a 15-3 lead but missed the next before the game opened up again in the final ten minutes.

Liam Larkan was at the end of a line-out plus maul to ground near the corner with five minutes to play, and Mafura added extras to all but seal victory for Zimbabwe.

Two minutes later, Brandon Mudzekenyedzi put the icing on the cake after running a good supporting line for Edward Sigauke, who broke Algeria’s line before finding the center to score under the posts.

President Mnangagwa congratulated the national rugby team for the historic achievement: “Congratulations to the Zimbabwe Sables for winning the Rugby Africa Cup 2024.”