• RUGBY

• Frank Rotich 11 days ago

Kenya Shujaa shine in Montevideo as Lionesses fall to Spain

Kenya’s national men’s sevens team, Shujaa, delivered a strong performance at the HSBC SVNS 2 tournament in Montevideo, Uruguay, securing a dominant 20-0 victory over Belgium to cap an impressive day one.

The convincing win marked Shujaa’s second triumph of the competition, bouncing back well after their opening defeat to the United States.

Kevin Wambua’s side had earlier edged past Canada, and the back-to-back wins now place them firmly in contention in their pool.

Shujaa wasted no time asserting themselves against Belgium. Kevin Wekesa opened the scoring in just the second minute after a well-worked team move that started from a ruck by George Ooro.

Quick hands from Nygel Amaitsa and Samuel Asati created space for Wekesa, who powered through to touch down. The conversion attempt was missed, leaving Kenya with a 5-0 lead.

The pressure continued as Vincent Onyala crossed over in the seventh minute for Kenya’s second try. Although the conversion was again unsuccessful, Shujaa took a comfortable 10-0 lead into the halftime break.

After the restart, Kenya maintained their attacking momentum. Patrick Odongo added the third try in the 10th minute following another fluid move involving Asati and Amaitsa, stretching the lead to 15-0.

Substitute Floyd Wabwire then made an immediate impact, scoring Shujaa’s fourth try just two minutes later to seal a commanding 20-0 advantage. Despite missing all conversion attempts, Kenya’s dominance was never in doubt.

Even after Samuel Asati was temporarily sent to the sin bin late in the match, Belgium failed to capitalize on the numerical advantage.

Shujaa managed the closing stages well, controlling possession and comfortably seeing out the victory.

The result lifts Kenya to third place in the standings with seven points, just two behind leaders Germany. Shujaa will now face Germany later on Sunday in a crucial match that could determine their progression to the next stage.

Meanwhile, it was a difficult outing for the Kenya Lionesses in the women’s competition. The team suffered a narrow 19-14 defeat to Spain in their third match of the tournament.

The loss marked their second defeat, leaving them fourth in the standings with four points, three behind leaders South Africa. The Lionesses will now face the table-toppers later on Sunday, hoping to bounce back and keep their campaign alive.