Zambia national rugby sevens team
| Full name | Zambia national rugby sevens team |
|---|---|
| Union | Zambia Rugby Football Union |
| Region | Africa |
| Coach(es) | Andrew Musonda Kaminsa[1][2] |
| Captain(s) | Israel Kalumba[2] |
| World Cup Sevens | |
| Appearances | 0 |
The Zambia national rugby sevens team is the men's African rugby sevens team that competes in the annual Africa Men's Sevens competition and the Commonwealth Games. It is governed by the Zambia Rugby Football Union (ZRFU).
The team reached their peak in 2003, when they participated on the World 7s series, drawing with the likes of Australia. However it is widely agreed with the talents of Hamayuma, Chimbuluku and Watkins the side is currently the strongest it has ever been.
History
[edit]Zambia made their first Commonwealth Games rugby sevens appearance in 2018, and they qualified again in 2022.[3][4][5] Their best result at the Africa sevens event was fourth (2017, 2022).[6]
The squad competed in 2 events in 2022 - the Zambezi Challenge 7s coming as runners up, notably higher than both Botswana (8th) and Zimbabwe (3rd). They finished 4th in the 2022 Africa 7s held in Kampala, Uganda. They were very close to qualifying for the World Cup that year, losing to Zimbabwe by 7 points in the Semi-Final and to Kenya by 3 points in the Bronze Final.
The squad attended the 2023 Africa 7s, finishing in 4th place. Missing out on the Olympic Repecharge to Uganda. In 2024, the squad will attend the All-Africa Championship in Ghana.
Players
[edit]Zambia's sevens squad to the 2022 Commonwealth Games.[7][8]
- Head coach: Musonda Kaminsa
| No. | Player | Date of birth (age) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Israel Kalumba (c) | 12 December 1992 (aged 29) |
| 2 | Edmond Hamayuwa | 14 October 1997 (aged 24) |
| 3 | Laston Mukosa | 10 September 1992 (aged 29) |
| 4 | Davy Chimbukulu | 1 June 1994 (aged 28) |
| 5 | Lawrence Kaushiku | 10 May 1995 (aged 27) |
| 6 | Elisha Bwalya | 15 July 1999 (aged 23) |
| 7 | Mike Masabo | 19 January 1995 (aged 27) |
| 8 | Brian Mbalwe | 8 December 1995 (aged 26) |
| 9 | Rodgers Mukupa | 7 May 1993 (aged 29) |
| 10 | Alex Mwewa | 25 November 1998 (aged 23) |
| 11 | Chisanga Nkoma | 1 April 1995 (aged 27) |
| 12 | Arun Watkins | 17 October 2001 (aged 20) |
| 13 | Melvin Banda | 26 August 1998 (aged 23) |
Team records
[edit]Rugby World Cup Sevens
[edit]| World Cup record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | L | D | |||
 1993
|
Did not qualify | ||||||||
 1997
| |||||||||
 2001
| |||||||||
 2005
| |||||||||
 2009
| |||||||||
 2013
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 2018
| |||||||||
 2022
| |||||||||
| Total | 0/8 | ||||||||
Commonwealth Games
[edit]| Commonwealth Games record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | P | W | L | D | |||
 1998
|
Did not qualify | ||||||||
 2002
| |||||||||
 2006
| |||||||||
 2010
| |||||||||
| 2014
| |||||||||
| 2018
|
Pool stage | 16th | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2022
|
13th–16th Place Semi-finals | =15th | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |||
| Total | 0 Titles | 2/7 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |||
References
[edit]- ^ "COMMONWEALTH GAMES RUGBY: Kamisa Welcomes Pool C Draws". Lusaka Times. 11 July 2022.
- ^ a b "Commonwealth Games: Men's team profiles". World Rugby. 13 April 2018.
- ^ Ramsay, George (21 February 2018). "Zambia relishes 'once in a lifetime' game against All Blacks". CNN.
- ^ "Zambia Rugby 7's Team primed for Commonwealth debut". Lusaka Times. 5 April 2018.
- ^ "Zambia 7s Rugby Team Qualifies for Commonwealth Games, Misses out on World Cup 7s". Lusaka Times. 26 April 2022.
- ^ Athman, Raziah (25 April 2022). "Uganda beats 13 teams to win 2022 Africa Rugby 7s". Africanews.
- ^ "Zambian Commonwealth Games Team Visit Durham - Durham University". www.durham.ac.uk. 2022-07-08. Retrieved 2022-08-07.
- ^ Munyika, Felix (2022-07-02). "TEAM ZAMBIA FOR B2022 COMMONWEALTH GAMES ANNOUNCED". NOC Zambia. Retrieved 2022-08-07.
