NAIROBI, Kenya, July 27 – The national rugby 7s team closed their Paris Olympics campaign with a 10-5 win over Samoa in their ninth-place playoff final on Saturday evening.
Shujaa had an axe to grind with the islanders, who thrashed them 26-0 in their final Pool B fixture on Thursday.
John Okoth gave them the best start possible, going over the try line to put them into a 5-0 lead after just three minutes.
Okoth added to Kenyans’ joy with his second try at the start of the second half, co-captain Tony Omondi falling short as far as converting between the posts was concerned.
The try seemed to have stoked Samoans’ anger as they went about in search of a positive response.
Their constant barging on Kenya’s 22 finally bore fruit in the 10th minute courtesy of Motu Opetai.
Despite their best efforts to level matters, Shujaa’s defence remained resolute to come away with a precious win and revenge for Thursday’s hiding.
