Kenya 7s head coach Kevin Wambua has identified key areas where the Shujaa team faltered during the third leg of the HSBC SVNS Series 2025 held in Perth, Australia from 24-26 January.
Shujaa struggled in the tournament, finishing tenth after being defeated 12-19 in the ninth-place final by New Zealand on Sunday morning.
After failing to secure a spot in the top eight following the three-day tournament, Wambua expressed disappointment over the losses to New Zealand and Fiji, but was pleased with the team’s comeback victories over the USA and Uruguay.
“Gutted not to have made it in the top 8 after losses to New Zealand and a close one against fiji in pool stage but happy to have come back stronger with wins against Uruguay and USA,” Wambua said.
He further stated that scoring tries against big teams on the global stage with a young squad is an indication that the team is on the right track.
“We are scoring tries against the top 8 teams with a young squad with 3/4 of the team playing in the series for the first time. Going toe to toe with them shows us that we are on the right path and our systems are working so we will continue to trust our process,” Wambua added.
ALSO READ: Shujaa finish tenth in Perth 7s
Wambua also addressed the team’s poor performance and the reasons they conceded tries despite leading in some matches.
“We know our set piece especially the lineout let us down but we will work hard to improve that critical part of the game.
We just need to tighten up our defence, make sure we are more connected and have that inside/outside cover, work hard on and off the ball and make better decisions around the breakdown area especially when we get fatigued,” he explained.
The gaffer remains positive despite the setbacks, confident that the team is learning valuable lessons from every game, and believes they will secure a top-eight spot by the end of the all series.
“We are picking up valuable lessons off every game win or lose and I know we will get better, we have to get better in order to achieve our season goal which is stay in the top 8.
We know that there is no room for errors at the big stage so we have to learn and adapt fast. Regardless of that the team is on the right path and we will continue working hard and growing together,” he concluded.
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Kevin Wambua will now shift focus to the fourth round of the World Rugby Sevens Series, the Vancouver Sevens, set for Friday, February 21 to Sunday, February 23, in Canada.
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Shujaa results and fixtures (Perth 7s)
Kenya 14-29 New Zealand
Kenya 14-21 Fiji
Kenya 19-5 Uruguay
Kenya 26-21 USA (9th place semifinal)
Kenya 12-19 (9th place final)
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