The United States of America and Uruguay have named strong teams for the World Rugby Sevens Division II tournament scheduled for Nairobi.
At the same time, Germany on Saturday became the first team to arrive for the championships.
Six men’s teams and an equal number of women’s will compete in the February 14-15 event at Nyayo National Stadium. The Nairobi tournament will be the first of the three-leg World Rugby Sevens Division II championships.
After Nairobi Sevens, the series will head to South America. Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo, will stage the second leg from March 21 to 22, with the third leg going to Sao Paulo in Brazil from March 28 to 29.
The top four teams after the three-leg men and women’s championships will join the eight World Rugby Sevens Division I teams to compete in a three-leg World Championship in Hong Kong from April 17 to19, Valladolid, Spain, from May 29 to 31, and in Bordeaux, France, from June 5 to 7.
Winners of the three-leg World Championship will be crowned world champions. The bottom four teams will be relegated to the Division II tournament, with the top eight qualifying for the 2026/2027 World Rugby Division I Series.
The momentum has been building for Nairobi Sevens, with organisers warning fans against buying fake tickets sold online by scrupulous individuals. Kenya Rugby Union has warned that the tournament is sold out.
“The public is hereby warned against fake tickets currently circulating online. All valid tickets were sold exclusively via our ticket partners, TIKOHUB. Tickets purchased from any other source are invalid and can only be bought at the buyer’s risk,” KRU said in a statement.
Stephen Tomasin will lead USA Eagles side that is focused on building consistency in the World Rugby series. USA have set their sights on a top-four finish in the three-leg series as they seek to return to the first tier of the world championship.
Besides Tomasin, the 12-man squad has players fresh from a pre-season trip to Fiji, where they featured at the Coral Coast Sevens tournament two weeks ago. The Eagles Sevens coach Zack Test said that they are ready for Nairobi Sevens test after months of preparation.
“I plan for everything,” Test told the media in the USA after their Fiji tour. “That’s why we went to Fiji, it’s going to be a similar environment. A lot of unknowns.”
“Fiji gave us real clarity…when we get our details right, we’re lethal on both sides of the ball; that part is not in question,” Test explained, adding that what the trip reinforced was that their success will come down to consistency.
“Fiji wasn’t about results for us, it was about understanding exactly what it takes to perform at a world-class level every time,” said Test. The Eagles lost to Fiji Babas 21-7 in the bowl semi-finals.
“Our objective this season is to perform in a way that earns us the right to return to SVNS 1. That means living our standards every day: discipline, work ethic, and consistency and turning our process into performance,” said Test.
Uruguay’s Los Teros Sevens will be led by experienced skipper Gabriel Puig in their maiden trip to Kenya.
Uruguay, USA, Germany and Kenya qualified for World Rugby Sevens after prevailing in 2025 Los Angeles Sevens play-off, but World Rugby changed the format at the last minute, prompting a big outcry.
The four teams will now be joined by Canada and Belgium in the men’s category of World Rugby Sevens Division II championships, while the women’s Division II category has Kenya, Brazil, China, Spain, South Africa and Argentina.
