NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 26 – Kenya bagged bronze at the Edmonton Sevens after thrashing hosts Canada 33-14 as South Africa were crowned the 2021 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series Champions on Sunday.
Kenya dropped to the bronze playoff after succumbing to a 33-7 defeat to perennial rivals South Africa in the semi-final.
Shujaa finished second overall on 36 points after bagging silver at Vancouver 7s in a tournament that had only two legs this season and missing heavy weights, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The match was a repeat of the Vancouver 7s final where South Africa convincingly beat Kenya 38-5 to win the Cup title.
Kenya, that had several debutants in the team, has had a massive improvement in terms of game play since their Tokyo 2020 Olympics dismal performance.
Meanwhile, South Africa completed a stellar two weeks in Canada when they won their second HSBC Canada Sevens tournament.
The Blitzboks – who conceded just one try across three games on day one – continued their dominant form on day two in Edmonton.
Facing Hong Kong in the quarterfinals for the second time on the weekend, there was no complacency as they ran out to a 46-0 win to book a place in the semifinals.
Waiting for them in the final four was Kenya, who had defeated Germany earlier. Muller du Plessis and Siviwe Soyizwapi would both score braces on the way to a 33-7 victory.
Great Britain – who were shocked by Germany on Saturday – provided a stern test for the South Africans. GB took the lead after they took advantage of Selvyn Davids’ yellow card, scoring the first try.
But the Blitzboks were quick to respond, scoring three tries to take the half 17-7. Some superb defence and a try apiece was enough to see South Africa hold on for the victory, winning 24-12.
“It has been an awesome two weeks, we came here with a mission to stick together and focus on our system and build on that so I am very proud of the team,” said du Plessis, South Africa’s star performer in Edmonton with 11 tries.