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Women’s ranking – In February, World Rugby delighted all women rugby players by revealing the 15-a-side women’s teams world ranking.

To date, this ranking includes 48 teams, among which 3 are from Africa. The rankings were introduced after a comprehensive process of obtaining and analysing every result from the first official women’s international matches dating back to 1987 and are based on the same criteria as the men’s rankings.

SOUTH AFRICA IS 12TH, KENYA IS 30TH AND UGANDA 39TH.

Introduction of the women’s rankings furthers anticipation ahead of an exciting 18 months of test rugby that will culminate in the much-anticipated Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 in Ireland.

In Africa, the year will be undoubtedly feminine ! Even if 15-a-side rugby still struggles to establish itself in most unions – mainly due to lack of means and players –  sevens rugby is on the contrary seducing more and more teams.

South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Kenya, Uganda, Tunisia, Senegal and Madagascar, are already part of the 8 best African teams. In 2016, they will meet during a tournament organized in Harare (Zimbabwe).

Women’s rugby offers an opportunity to some countries to stand out from the crowd, to find its place in the African rugby. While some unions bank on high level, the great majority try to establish Women’s rugby on the long term. For this purpose, the Get Into Rugby program is another great ally. In Africa, from 211 358 players in 2015, 79 259 are girls which means 37 % of the total number of players. A figure which won’t stop increasing with  26 967 girls who started playing rugby between 2012 and 2014 only. Since then, unions are redoubling their efforts and setting up numerous tournaments for girls who never fail to seize an opportunity to play the game they love.