Shujaa turn focus to Dubai matches after Hong Kong Sevens defeat
It was a disappointing World Sevens series opener leg in Hong Kong after debutant Uruguay gave Kenya a 10-7 whip for a 15th-place finish.
The turn of events shifts the focus to Dubai where Shujaa will face off with pool A rivals including Hong Kong champions Australia, South Africa and Great Britain.
Kickoffs and basic errors kept Kenya on the receiving end against Uruguay and despite a 7-0 halftime lead against the debutant, a flimsy returning half forced Kenya into submission after conceding two tries.
Kevin Wekesa scored the sole try for Shujaa against Uruguay while Tony Omondi slotted the conversion to grab a 7-0 lead before their opponent disrespected a powerhouse in the series by scoring two unconverted tries through Mateo Vinals and Bautista Basso.
Poor start
The semifinal loss to Uruguay marked Kenya’s 15th-place finish owing to losing all five fixtures at the Hong Kong Stadium.
After the poor start, all eyes are fixed on how Kenya Sevens head coach Damian McGrath will find his way back into the main Cup knockouts during tough times as their employer the Kenya Rugby Union aggressively looks for financial partners and a new shirt sponsor.
Heading to the opener leg Shujaa’ tactician revealed things had been so difficult for the team in the past couple of months including finding a field to train.
“Its impossible to compare our services to the high-performance training offered to our World series opponents. Let’s be patient with the Shujaa players at least for the first couple of months,” McGrath said.
The opener day saw Kenya record a 28-12 loss to Ireland and on the second day the team fought hard for a win at the group stage against Argentina and Canada but that was not the case as Argentina won 26-7 while Canada avenged the previous loss to Kenya by winning 19-14 in a nervy clash on Saturday morning.
Kenya was yesterday morning given a 43-0 beating by New Zealand during the ninth place quarterfinal to send the team to contest to finish 15th in the 16-team competition but debuting Uruguay was after disrespecting the East African powerhouse.
It was not the first time Kenya Sevens managed just a point in a Sevens’ leg, last season the team suffered the same fate in four legs. Three were in a row before they managed the first main cup quarterfinal appearance at the final leg in Los Angeles Sevens in August this year.
