Madagascar national rugby union team
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| Union | Fédération Malagasy de Rugby |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Les Makis |
| Coach(es) | Berthin Rafalimanana |
| Captain(s) | José Rakoto |
| Top scorer | José Rakoto |
| First international | |
 Madagascar 9-17 Italy  (24 May 1970) |
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| Largest win | |
Madagascar 97-3 Zambia  (26 August 2006) |
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| Largest defeat | |
 Namibia 112-0 Madagascar (15 June 2002) |
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The Madagascar national rugby union team represents Madagascar in the sport of rugby union. Although rugby is popular in Madagascar, the country has not yet qualified for a Rugby World Cup. It does compete annually in the Africa Cup, and was runner-up to Uganda in 2007. The national team's nickname is the Malagasy name for the ring-tailed lemur.
Madagascar defeated Namibia 57 - 54 in extra-time to win Group 1B final match at the 2012 Africa Cup; they have now jumped up 14 places to their current 42nd rank.
Madagascar played their first ever international rugby match in 1970, where they met Italy, losing 9 points to 17. The second of the series of two games was also won by Italy, 6 points to 9. The team got their first international win during 1987 when they defeated Kenya 22 to 16.
During 2001 Madagascar competed for the first time in the Africa qualification tournaments for the 2003 Rugby World Cup to be held in Australia. They started off in Pool B of Round 1, where they contested matches against Botswana and Swaziland. They won both their games and finished at the top of the pool to advance to the next round. In Round 2 they defeated Kenya and Cameroon to secure the top finish and advance to Round 3, which took place in 2002. Madagascar made their exit in Round 3, losing to Namibia and Zimbabwe.
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