Botswana rugby seven announces squad for Olympic qualifiers

Botswana women rugby sevens coach Moses Mariba on Wednesday announced the squad for the Olympic qualifying tournament in South Africa.

The 12 players will depart early Thursday morning for the single spot available for Africa for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

The historic tournament, to be played in Johannesburg on September 26-27, will be the first ever qualifier for rugby following a decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to readmit the sevens format of the rugby games.

Botswana is in Pool A alongside Kenya, Morocco, Namibia and Senegal. Mariba said they are expecting fierce competition from their rivals, especially Kenya, who are among the top ranked in the continent.

He said he has assembled a good team capable of pulling a good result against any side. He said his squad is made up of a blend of youngsters and experienced players, something that brought balance to the team.

Meanwhile the Botswana men sevens rugby team departed for Windhoek, Namibia on Wednesday afternoon to compete in a regional invitational sevens tournament.

The team will use the tournament to prepare for the men's Olympic qualifier tournament that will be staged in Johannesburg in November.

Botswana will open the tournament against South Africa's Blitzbokke that has named a strong side with players who played the HSBC World Rugby Sevens series.

Other competing countries are Poland, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Endit