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. They are currently ranked 77th in the world.[1]
 | ||
| Nickname | The Vultures | |
|---|---|---|
| Union | Botswana Rugby Union | |
| Head coach | Andrew Paxinos Ian Greaves | |
| ||
| World Rugby ranking | ||
| Current | 77 (as of 4 November 2024) | |
| Highest | 74 | |
| Lowest | 77 (2020) | |
| First international | ||
 Zimbabwe 130-10 Botswana  (7 September 1996) | ||
| Biggest win | ||
Botswana 87-0 Swaziland  (15 June 2014) | ||
| Biggest defeat | ||
| Zimbabwe 130-10 Botswana (7 September 1996) | ||
History
editBotswana played their first ever international on September 7, 1996, against Zimbabwe, losing 130 to 10. Their first win came in 2001 in a match against Swaziland, winning 13 points to 3. Also in 2001 they participated in African qualifying tournaments for the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia. In 2004 Botswana won four internationals in a row, defeating Tanzania, Swaziland, Nigeria and Mali.
Botswana then participated in the Africa qualifying tournaments for the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France. They were grouped in the Southern Pool of Round 1a, along with nations Zambia and Swaziland. In their first game against Zambia in Lusaka, they lost 28 to 24. However they won their second match 19 to 12 over Swaziland in Botswana. They finished second in the pool and did not advance to the next round. Julian Harris made History by representing Botswana national rugby union team at the young age of 16 years playing on the wing, as far as possibly known making him the youngest rugby union international in the world
World Cup record
edit- 1987 - 1991 - Did not enter
- 1995 - 2019 - Did not qualify
Overall record
editBelow is a table of the representative rugby matches played by the Botswana national XV at test level up until 23 November 2019:
| Against | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | % Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arabian Gulf | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Ghana |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Ivory Coast |
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0% |
 Lesotho |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Netherlands |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Kenya |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Madagascar |
5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0% |
 Mali |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Mayotte |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Mauritius |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67% |
 Namibia |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Namibia A |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Niger |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Nigeria |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Réunion |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.33% |
| Swaziland |
10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 90% |
 Senegal |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.33% |
 South Africa A |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Tanzania |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Tunisia |
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0% |
 Uganda |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0% |
 Zambia |
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 40% |
| Zimbabwe |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0% |
| Total | 61 | 25 | 35 | 1 | 41.67% |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Men's Rankings". www.world.rugby. 16 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
External links
edit- Botswana on IRB.com
- Botswana on RugbyData.com
- Botswana Rugby Union
 | This article about sports in Botswana is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This Rugby union article about a national team is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |