Kenya 7s in big fight against the chop

Kenya Sevens will have to dig deeper in the coming three legs of the 2024/2025 World Rugby Sevens Series if they are to rescue themselves from sinking further in the relegation and play-off zone.

Shujaa might have stayed ninth in the series standings, a place below the play-off cut off zone, they dropped in performance in the third leg of the series in Perth, Australia Sunday.

It’s now a battle for survival for Shujaa with Australia, who are placed sixth 30 points, New Zealand, who are seventh with 28 points and eighth-placed Great Britain with 20 points.

Shujaa lost New Zealand 19-12 in the ninth place final to finish 10th and collect three points from Perth for their total tally of 14 points. Shujaa had finished eighth in the previous leg of Cape Town to collect eight points.

Patrick Odongo and Vincent Onyala landed a try each as Anthony Omondi managed one conversion to put Shujaa ahead at the break 12-7 only for the Kenyans to blow away the lead.

Andrew Knewstubb and Dylan Collier scored second half tries to take away the duel from Shujaa as Knewstubb, who had converted Reagan Ware’s first half try, slotted over one conversion in the last half.

All Blacks would collect four points to see them drop one place to seventh in the series with as Australia, who pushed their way to the Cup final, eventually losing to Argentina 41-5, collected a massive 18 points to improve.

The series head to Vancouver, Canada on February 1 to 23 and then Hong Kong on March 28 to 30 before Singapore on April 5 to 6 to decide the bottom four teams that will slide to the play-offs.

Argentina dominated the hosts to retain their Perth title, becoming the third different winner this season as they collected 20 points to tie with Fiji and Spain at the top of the standings with 48 points each heading into Vancouver.

After finishing second in Dubai and fourth in Cape Town, Spain claimed bronze in Perth with a huge and stunning play-off victory against South Africa, the Cape Town champions, 14-7.

Fiji and France, the Paris Olympic Games finalists renewed their rivalry in the fifth place final. France, who won the Olympics final and their semi-final between them and Fiji in Cape Town, played second fiddle this time around.

Terio Veilawa, Sakiusa Siqila and Joji Nasova scored as they eased to 17-5 victory against the hosts and claim the vital 12 points from Perth.

Head coach Kevin “Blind” Wambua said he is gutted not to have finished in the top eight and more so not to have beaten Fiji in the pool stage, victory that should have sealed a top eight performance for them.

Kenya lost to New Zealand 29-14 and Fiji 21-14 despite leading 14-7 at the break. They would then beat Uruguay 19-5 in their last pool match. Uruguay had stunned Fiji (24-17) and New Zealand (17-12).

Then they would dismiss USA 26-21 in the ninth place semi-final before losing to the All Blacks in the final.

“I am happy we are scoring tries against the top eight teams with a young squad with three-quarters of the team playing in the series for the first time. They going toe to toe with them shows us that we are on the right path and our systems are working so we will continue to trust our process.

“The score did not reflect the effort of the boys after playing some good rugby against New Zealand,” said Wambua, adding that his set pieces especially the lineout, let them down.

Wambua noted that is a critical area they need to will work on thoroughly but also tighten their defence and make sure they are more connected.  

“We want our inside and outside cover to be fluid but also make better decisions around the breakdown area especially when we get fatigued,” said Wambua, adding that they have picked valuable lessons heading into Vancouver.  

Wambua told his boys that there is no room for errors at the big stage hence they must learn and adapt fast.

“Regardless, the team is on the right path and we will continue working hard and growing together.”

Kenya finished second in the 2024 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series that saw the top four teams qualify for the promotion and relegation play-offs in Madrid, Spain.

Kenya reached the quarterfinals of the play-offs before dismantling Germany 33-15 in the semi-finals to return to the world series after one year in the cold.

Kenya lost to Canada 12-7 during the 2023 promotion and relegation play-off final at the London Sevens.

Shujaa were first invited to the series in 2000 before it became the core side in 2004. It was the first time the team was being relegated from the world series.