NAIROBI, Kenya, March 31 – The national men’s rugby sevens side, Shujaa, began their Hong Kong Sevens on a false start, losing 29-5 to New Zealand in their opening tie on Friday morning.
Coach Damian McGrath’s charges were limp in the face of the All Blacks’ challenge as the World Rugby Sevens Series leaders ran rampant in the opening stages of the match.
Three tries from Dylan Collier, Leroy Carter and Akulia Rokolisoa put the Kenyans to the sword conversions from Rokolisoa and Ngarohi McGarvey-Black giving them a commanding 19-0 lead.
Shujaa managed to regain their composure in the match with captain Nelson Oyoo restoring some respect to the scoreline with a try at the edge of halftime to make it 19-5.
However, a try by Cody Vai in the second half, and another one by Rokolisoa, condemned Kenya to another defeat ahead of the next match against Ireland on Saturday morning.
