Niger beat Burkina Faso 16-3 in the final to win CAR's development tournament in Accra, Ghana.
The two sides had topped their pools after the earlier round-robin, Burkina Faso beating hosts Ghana 9-8 to reach the final and Niger finally cutting loose in what had been an extremely tight and low-scoring pool B to beat Togo 19-3.
Hosts Ghana had started with a 17-8 victory over Chad and Burkina Faso overcame the same opposition 33-6, making way for the winner-takes-all clash in their pool, while Niger had entered the penultimate match day with only a 3-3 draw to their name. Ultimately, however, they proved strong enough to win the final.
"This tournament is hugely important for the ongoing growth of rugby in Africa and it has been superbly organised by Gifty Anna Myers, President of the Ghana Rugby Union, and her team." said IRB General Manager for Africa, Jean-Luc Barthes.
"In recent years we've seen the likes of Kenya, Tunisia, Madagascar and Uganda improve massively as well as the likes of Zambia, Swaziland and Botswana and these countries represent the next tier of Africa's ever-expanding rugby scene.
"Considering the conditions that some of the sides prepare in, the quality of the rugby here in Ghana has been strong, certainly a great sign for the future."
None of the sides competing in Accra are yet full member unions of the IRB so none have IRB World Rankings.
Pool A
Burkina Faso
Ghana
Chad
Pool B
Togo
Niger
Mali
Fixtures & results
3 June 2008
Togo 3-0 Mali
Ghana 17-8 Chad
25 June 2008
Chad 6-33 Burkina Faso
Niger 3-3 Mali
27 June 2008
Togo 3-19 Niger
Ghana 8-9 Burkina Faso
29 June 2008
Chad (3rd pool A) 10-0 Mali (3rd pool B)
Ghana (2nd pool A) 27-6 Togo (2nd pool B)
Burkina Faso (Winner pool A) 3-16 Niger (Winner pool B)
