Editing Rugby union (section)

===Africa===
In 1875, rugby was introduced to [[Rugby union in South Africa|South Africa]] by British soldiers garrisoned in Cape Town.<ref name="Godwin11"/> The game spread quickly across the country, displacing [[Winchester College football]] as the sport of choice in South Africa and spreading to nearby [[Zimbabwe]]. South African settlers also brought the game with them to Namibia and competed against British administrators in [[British East Africa]]. During the late 19th and early 20th century, the sport in Africa was spread by settlers and colonials who often adopted a "whites-only" policy to playing the game. This resulted in rugby being viewed as a [[bourgeois]] sport by the indigenous people with limited appeal.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wesclark.com/rrr/kenya_rugby.html |title=A Review of Kenyan Rugby |publisher=wesclark.com |first=Michael Mundia |last=Kamau |access-date=19 August 2011 |archive-date=22 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222001453/http://wesclark.com/rrr/kenya_rugby.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite this, enclaves of black participation developed notably in the [[Eastern Cape]] and in [[Harare]]. The earliest countries to see the playing of competitive rugby include South Africa, and neighbouring [[Rugby union in Rhodesia|Rhodesia]] (modern-day Zimbabwe), which formed the Rhodesia Rugby Football Union in 1895 and became a regular stop for touring British and New Zealand sides.<ref>{{Harvnb|Godwin|Rhys|1981|p=15}}</ref>

In more recent times, the sport has been embraced by several African nations. In the early 21st century Madagascar has experienced crowds of 40,000 at national matches,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4471650.stm |title=Madagascar rugby inspires new passion |work=BBC Sport |first=Tim |last=Cocks |date=26 November 2005 |access-date=19 August 2011 |archive-date=12 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130412012328/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4471650.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> while Namibia, whose history of rugby can be dated from 1915, have qualified for the final stages of the World Cup seven times since 1999.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sport |first=BBC |date=10 July 2022 |title=Namibia qualify for 2023 Rugby World Cup with 36-0 win over Kenya |work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/62117060 |url-status=live |access-date=18 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710221838/https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/62117060 |archive-date=10 July 2022 }}</ref> Other African nations to be represented in the World Rugby Rankings as Member Unions include [[Rugby union in Côte d'Ivoire|Côte d'Ivoire]], [[Rugby union in Kenya|Kenya]], [[Rugby union in Uganda|Uganda]] and [[Rugby union in Zambia|Zambia]].<ref name="Full rankings"/> South Africa and Kenya are among the 15 "core teams" that participate in every event of the men's [[World Rugby Sevens Series]].<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.irbsevens.com/destination/edition=9/news/newsid=2048923.html#teams+announced+gold+coast+kick |title=Teams announced for Gold Coast kickoff |publisher=International Rugby Board |date=8 September 2011 |access-date=13 November 2011 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011152812/http://irbsevens.com/destination/edition=9/news/newsid=2048923.html |archive-date=11 October 2011 }}</ref>