- Shujaa stay unbeaten as Kenya Lionesses struggle ahead of HSBC SVNS 2 final showdowns Nairobi leg.
- Shujaa managed to edge out Uruguay 17-7 on Sunday afternoon to make it four wins from four at the Nyayo National Stadium.
- Shujaa will now look to seal the home leg in style when they face the USA in the final match at 5:02 pm.
The men’s national 7s team, Shujaa, remains the only side yet to taste defeat in the HSBC SVNS 2 Nairobi leg after overcoming Uruguay 17–7 on Sunday afternoon in Round 4 of the tourney.
At the Nyayo National Stadium, Shujaa came into the clash riding high with three impressive victories on day one Saturday, and they simply needed to keep the momentum going at home, and they delivered.
The first half was a tense affair, with Shujaa commanding most of the minutes but fortune not quite on their side.
Shujaa stay unbeaten as Kenya Lionesses struggle ahead of HSBC SVNS 2 final showdowns Nairobi leg
They eventually broke the deadlock seconds before halftime after earning a scrum in midfield.
John Okoth received an offload and tossed through the Uruguay defense, shrugging off tacklers before touching down between the posts to hand Shujaa a 7–0 lead after Nygel Amaitsa added the extras.
In the second half, Shujaa resumed with intent and immediately pinned Uruguay inside their 22.
Patrick Odongo released a brilliant pass to George Ooro on the left wing, and Ooro calmly dotted down in the corner to stretch the advantage. Amaitsa missed the conversion, leaving the score at 12–0.
Moments before full-time, Kevin Wambua’s charges widened the gap, capitalizing on another solid scrum near the left corner.
Co-captain Samuel Asati powered through the defense to ground the ball in the whitewash, pushing Kenya’s lead to 17–0 after the conversion attempt drifted wide.
Uruguay grabbed a late consolation try in the dying seconds when Pedro Hoblog offloaded to Joaquin Cat, who crossed over.
Juan Manuel converted successfully, but it was too little, too late, as Shujaa stayed unbeaten in this opening leg of the HSBC SVNS 2 in Nairobi.
Shujaa will now look to seal the home leg in style when they face the USA in the final match at 5:02 pm.
The USA heads into the showdown after suffering their first campaign setback, a 28–7 defeat to Germany.
Things continue to unravel for the Kenya Lionesses
Meanwhile, things continued to unravel for the Kenya Lionesses, who endured their third straight loss at home after falling 5–0 to Argentina.
Marianela Escalante secured Argentina’s decisive try just a minute in, exploiting space on the right wing to dive over and hand her side an early edge, though the conversion attempt was unsuccessful.
The Lionesses pressed relentlessly, striving to trap Argentina inside their 22, but luck eluded them as they slumped to a third consecutive home defeat, their only triumph so far coming against Brazil on Saturday.
Now, the Simon Odongo-coached side will be eager to finish their home campaign on a stronger note when they face Spain in their final fixture of the leg.
Spain approaches the contest brimming with confidence after defeating Brazil 29–21 in their opening match of day one.
Kenya Lionesses have one last opportunity to make a statement before the home crowd as they wrap up the leg against a spirited Spanish side.
HSBC SVNS 2 Nairobi: Sunday Feb 15, results, full fixtures, schedule & kick-off times
Women’s Matches
- 11:00 – China 7s 33-5 South Africa 7s
- 11:22 – Brazil 7s 21-29 Spain 7s
- 11:44 – Kenya 7s 0-5 Argentina 7s
- 15:12 – South Africa 7s vs Argentina 7s
- 15:34 – Brazil 7s vs China 7s
- 15:56 – Spain 7s vs Kenya 7s
Men’s Matches
- 12:06 – Canada 7s 7-10 Belgium 7s
- 12:28 – USA 7s 28-7 Germany 7s
- 12:50 – Kenya 7s vs Uruguay 7s
- 16:18 – Germany 7s vs Belgium 7s
- 16:40 – Uruguay 7s vs Canada 7s
- 17:02 – Kenya 7s vs USA 7s