Shujaa picked up two victories, two losses and a draw at the Hamilton leg of the World Sevens Series
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 26 – Shujaa picked 10 points from the third stop of the World Sevens Series in Hamilton this weekend, moving a spot up from 11th to 10th in the overall standings following their seventh place play-off loss to Argentina.
The 10 points takes Kenya to 25 points having picked four in the season opening Dubai Sevens, 11 in Cape Town and now 10 from Hamilton.
Shujaa had earlier on finished second in Pool B having pulled a shock 36-14 victory over South Africa to record the biggest win over the Blitzbokke in the history of the series.
But, with the new format of the World Series, they could not progress to the Main Cup contention as it has now been left as a preserve of group winners only. They had earlier lost 24-19 to England and drew 12-12 with Japan in their second group match.
South Africa’s Angelo Davids attacks against the Kenya defense on day two of the HSBC New Zealand Sevens 2020 men’s competition at FMG Stadium Waikato on 26 January, 2020 in Hamilton, New Zealand. Photo credit: Mike Lee – KLC fotos for World Rugby
The win over South Africa earned them a date against Argentina, a tie they were leading 17-7 at halftime, but dropped the pace in the second half with the Argentines winning 19-17.
Against the Argentine side, Shujaa fell off early when Felipe del Maestre dotted down across the whitewash to give them a 5-0 lead.
But Shujaa who have been in high spirits in the tournament staged a remarkable comeback with Nelson Oyoo, Collins Injera and Willy Ambaka dotting down one try each, one of them being converted while one came against the upright.
But, the Argentines staged a comeback in the second half, del Maestre adding his second before Franco Sabato evaded tackles a few metres to the try box to extend a hand and dot down the winning try which was converted.
