South Africa qualify for women’s rugby tournament at Rio 2016 Olympic Games
Springboks dominate African qualifying competition in Johannesburg and become ninth team to confirm place in Brazil
South Africa’s women have joined their male counterparts in qualifing for Rio 2016 (World Rugby)
This article has been superseded by this story after the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) declined the slot in the women’s Olympic rugby tournament and Kenya took their place
The South African women’s rugby sevens team lived up to its billing as pre-tournament favourites by winning the Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens event on home turf in Johannesburg to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, World Rugby has confirmed.
The Springboks won all six games they played over the weekend (26-27 September), scoring 265 points and conceding only five. They beat Kenya 31-5 in the final on Sunday to confirm their participation in rugby’s return to the Olympic Games after a 92-year absence.
The Olympic dream lives on for Kenya and the losing semi-finalists Tunisia and Zimbabwe, who will take part in the global repechage tournament next year, which will determine the 12th and final qualifier.
South Africa join the list of qualified teams featuring New Zealand, Canada, Australia and Great Britain, who booked their places by finishing in the top four of the World Sevens Series, and regional qualifiers Colombia, USA and France. The regional qualifiers for Oceania and Asia take place in November, while Brazil have a place confirmed as host nation.
