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Allen Khumalo, Sports Reporter
FOLLOWING their 28-16 win over Senegal in the Rugby Africa Gold Cup in Dakar on Saturday, the Zimbabwe Sables have climbed one place up the ladder in the World Rugby rankings.

The Sables earned 1.18 rating points after the victory to move into 35th position on the 103-team table with 51.17 points.

According to the latest World Rugby rankings released on Monday, the Sables climbed one place up, while Uganda moved five places up to 40th and South Africa are ranked fifth.

Sables’ manager Sam Samu said the latest rankings are a major confidence boost to the team, as they are aiming for a spot in the 2019 World Cup.

“This is a good thing for the country and it’s a big boost for us. Our vision is to win the Africa Gold Cup group and hopefully earn a spot in the world Cup. The guys did well on Saturday and they deserve this, so we hope they will continue with such great performances,” said Samu.

Zimbabwe will have an opportunity to  rise further up the rankings when they play Namibia on July 15 before playing host to Kenya on July 22 in the Africa Gold Cup tournament.

World Rugby rankings

1. New Zealand 94.78
2. England 90.14
3. Ireland 85.39
4. Australia 84.63
5. South Africa 84.16
6. Scotland 82.47
7. Wales 81.73
8. France 79.63
9. Argentina 79.50
10. Fiji 78.06
35. Zimbabwe 51.17

@khumzallen