- Kenya 7 are in Pool B with Australia and Spain.
- They faced Spain at 1516 EAT.
Cape Town, South Africa – The men’s national 7s rugby team, Shujaa, gave themselves an excellent chance of reaching the semi-finals of the 2024 Cape Town 7s major cup after beating Australia 19-12 in their opening Group B match on Saturday morning at the DHL Stadium.
The Kevin ‘Bling’ Wambua-coached side showed tremendous character as they came back from 0-12 down as tries from Kevin Wekesa, George ‘Japolo’ Ooro and a penalty try completed a brave comeback.
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Fresh off a tenth-place finish in Dubai where the team returned to the HSBC SVNS Series after relegation, Shujaa showed nerves as Australia applied pressure deep in Kenyan territory.
Their tactics paid off when James Turner scored the opening try for Australia with Hayden Sargeant converting to give them a 0-7 lead.
Sargent then got his name on the try scorers list but couldn’t convert as they went 0-12 up.
After initial nervousness, Kenya managed to come out of their shell and, following continued pressure, managed to land a corner through Wekesa, Nygel Amaitsa converting to reduce the deficit to 7-12 at the break.
Tony Omondi returned to the team early in the second half and his presence brought calm.
Complete turnaround of Kenya 7s
With Kenya needing to score and time running out, Dennis Abukuse took a smart shot and chased after seeing space at the back.
His efforts resulted in Sargent making a desperate attempt to chase back only to deny the Kenyan striker the chance to score when he made a tackle when Abukuse had not yet got hold of the ball.
What followed was a penalty try that put Kenya in the lead for the first time.
With the game tightening, Kenya went all out to seal the win as they counter-attacked before Ooro touched down in the corner for a 19-12 win.
“The team worked hard until the final whistle blew. “It’s been a tough job and the last few months have been challenging, but in the end, it all comes down to the heart,” said Omondi after the match.
Shujaa now face Spain at 1516EAT with a win that guarantees them a place in the semi-finals of the major cup.
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