In 1990, Zimbabwe participated in the first Rugby World Cup qualifying competition for the African continent. The team topped a group consisting of the Ivory Coast, Morocco, and Tunisia, qualifying for the 1991 Rugby World Cup. However, unfortunately for the Sables, they lost all their 3 matches to Ireland, Japan, and Scotland by fairly large margins. After this World many players from Zimbabwe's "Golden Generation" retired. Namibia and later Kenya entered the scene, challenging the original four charter members of Rugby Africa, and the slow deterioration of the Zimbabwean economy in the 1990s and into the 2000s caused many rugby players (both black and white) to leave the country for opportunities elsewhere. An example of this is Kennedy Tsimba, who initially played as a Zimbabwe international, but later switched to South Africa due to the political and economic situation.