- Kenya 7s are in Pool B alongside Australia and Spain.
- They face Spain at 1516 EAT.
Cape Town, South Africa – The men’s national rugby 7s side, Shujaa, gave themselves an incredible chance of making it to the main cup semifinals of the Cape Town 7s 2024 after stunning Australia 19-12 in their opening Group B match on Saturday morning at the DHL Stadium.
The Kevin ‘Bling’ Wambua-coached side showed incredible character as they came from 0-12 down as tries from Kevin Wekesa, George ‘Japolo’ Ooro and a penalty try completed the gutsy comeback.
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Fresh from a tenth-placed finish in Dubai where the team was returning to the HSBC SVNS Series following their relegation, Shujaa showed some nerves as Australia applied pressure deep in the Kenyan territory.
Their tactic paid off as James Turner scored the opening try for the Aussies with Hayden Sargeant converting to give them a 0-7 lead.
Sargent then put his name on the try scoring list but could not convert as they extended to a 0-12 lead.
After the early jitters, Kenya managed to get out of their shell and, following sustained pressure, managed to touch down at the corner through Wekesa, Nygel Amaitsa nailing the conversion to reduce the deficit to 7-12 at the break.
Tony Omondi made his comeback to the team at the start of the second half and his presence brought a notable calming presence.
Kenya 7s complete turnaround
With Kenya needing to score and time running out fast, Dennis Abukuse unleashed a clever kick and chase after spotting acres of space in behind.
His efforts resulted in Sargent making desperate efforts to chase back only for him to deny the Kenyan attacker a scoring chance as he made a tackle when Abukuse had not yet gotten hold of the ball.
What followed was a penalty try that saw Kenya take the lead for the first time.
With the game on edge, Kenya gave themselves what would end up to be the try that secured the win as they counter-racked before Ooro touched down at the corner for the 19-12 win.
“The team worked hard until the last whistle. It has been a lot of work and the past few months have been challenging but it is all in the heart at the end of the day,” Omondi said after the game.
Shujaa now face Spain at 1516EAT with a win guaranteeing them a place in the main cup semifinals.
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