- The Kenya Lionesses and Shujaa delivered contrasting performances in a demanding second leg of the HSBC SVNS 2 in Montevideo, Uruguay.
- Shujaa secured a bronze medal finish, while the Kenya Lionesses endured a difficult campaign, placing last.
- Next up is the final leg in Sao Paulo, Brazil, from March 28–29, where both teams will be aiming to put on a strong showing and secure a place in the World Championship Series.
Kenya’s national rugby sevens sides, the Lionesses and Shujaa, delivered contrasting outcomes in a challenging second leg of the 2026 HSBC SVNS 2 tournament played at the Estadio Charrua in Montevideo, Uruguay from 21-22 March.
The men’s side, Shujaa, despite a tough outing, managed to clinch the bronze medal in the penultimate leg in the 2026 SVNS 2 won by USA.
USA and second-placed Germany booked their tickets to the season-ending HSBC SVNS World Championship Series with commanding performances.
The top two sides from the first leg in Nairobi last month swapped places on the podium, as the USA bagged the title in Uruguay with a flawless five wins from five matches.
Kenya and Uruguay, meanwhile, are well-placed in the third and fourth qualifying positions heading into Sao Paulo, but they will have one eye on Belgium and Canada when the teams take to the pitch next weekend.
Shujaa HSBC SVNS 2 Montevideo leg recap
After securing two wins in their three matches on Saturday – where they fell to the USA in the opener before claiming back-to-back victories over Belgium and Canada, Shujaa’s second day was far from easy, as they managed just a single win alongside another loss.
The day kicked off with a disappointing 12–7 loss to Germany, despite them putting on a show in the final minutes.
Jakob Dipper and Tim Lichtenberg had given Germany tries, one of which was successfully converted, while Kevin Wambu’s comeback came too late.
A try by Floyd Wabwire, converted by David Nyangige, wasn’t enough to hand them their third win of the outing.
However, in their final match of this second leg, Shujaa managed to put up a fight, coming from behind to beat the hosts, Uruguay, 22–14 and finish strongly.
Francisco Landauer had given the hosts the lead with a try he converted, but Patrick Odongo would go on to grab three successful tries only one of which was converted, as they took the lead.
John Okoth’s unconverted try sealed the win, with a late comeback attempt by the hosts through Dante Soto falling short despite the conversion.
Thus, Shujaa posted three wins in Montevideo across their five matches, scooping up a solid 16 points to bring their total to 32, remaining in third place heading into the final leg this weekend in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
There, they’ll be looking for nothing short of another strong performance to stay in the top four and secure a spot in the World Championship.
Kenya Lionesses HSBC SVNS 2 Montevideo leg recap
Meanwhile, on the women’s side, everything went south as they finished last, managing just a single victory, leaving their hopes for next season’s HSBC SVNS 1 as a distant dream.
On day one, they kicked off the campaign with a 19–5 loss to China, then grabbed their sole win 12–10 against Argentina before falling 14–19 to Spain.
Day two saw things turn sour as they lost both matches, including facing their African rivals South Africa, who beat them 27–0, before wrapping up the leg with a 19–12 loss to Brazil.
With nothing to smile about this time around, they will have to face the music heading to Brazil as they seek redemption. Breaking into the top four is a steep climb, though a glimmer of hope remains.
Elsewhere, Argentina’s women’s sevens squad claimed back-to-back HSBC SVNS 2 titles with four wins from five in Montevideo, cementing their place in the season-ending three-tournament HSBC SVNS World Championship Series.
Spain and South Africa finished second and third, reversing their Nairobi standings to claim two of the remaining three tickets to Hong Kong, Valladolid, and Bordeaux, with Spain now having one hand on a pass to the showpiece events.
China heads into next weekend’s final HSBC SVNS 2 Series tournament in Sao Paulo holding the fourth and final qualification slot, with Brazil and Kenya chasing hard.
Once all three legs are wrapped up, the top four teams will join the top eight from the World Championship Series in their own three-leg event.
In the end, the top eight of the 12 eams will lock in their spot in the SVNS Division 1 for 2027.
