- Kenya 7s finished eighth at the 2026 Valladolid 7s tournament.
- Shujaa suffered a 14-5 defeat to France in the seventh-place playoff on Sunday, May 31, at Estadio José Zorrilla in Spain.
- Next up for Shujaa is the Bordeaux leg in France from June 5–7, where they must secure a top-eight overall finish.
Kenya 7s will settle for an eighth-place finish in the Valladolid 7s after crashing 14-5 to France in the seventh-place playoffs on Sunday afternoon at the Estadio Jose Zorrilla in Spain.
Shujaa have now secured six points from this round, and having finished seventh at the Hong Kong 7s in April, they head into the third and final leg of the World Championship level on 14 points, level with France.
This sets up a crucial battle between the two sides as they push for a top-eight finish to secure a place in HSBC SVNS 1 next season.
ALSO READ: South Africa beat out-of-sorts Kenya 7s to hand them reality check in Valladolid 7s
The seventh-place playoff was a rematch of the Hong Kong 7s clash, but this time it was France who struck first.
Despite Kenya enjoying early dominance, the French capitalised on their opportunities, with Enahemo Artaud crossing over for the opening try, which was successfully converted for a 7-0 lead.
Moments later, Artaud sliced through the Kenyan defence down the left wing for his second try as the conversion sailed through to extend France’s advantage to 14-0.
Right before halftime, Shujaa cut the deficit with a try of their own. Some well-executed passing saw John Okoth burst through on the left, where he managed to dart the ball down for a 14-5 score at the break after David Nyangige missed the conversion.
The second half saw Kenya enjoy long spells of possession and territory, but their hopes of a comeback suffered a setback when Victor Mola was shown a yellow card, reducing Shujaa to six men.
Despite their efforts, time ran out on the Kenyan side as they ultimately fell 14-5, failing to replicate their 21-7 victory over France in Hong Kong.
Shujaa have really endured a rough outing in Spain, having first stumbled 15-10 to Australia in the opener of Pool A, then gotten blanked 14-0 by South Africa.
However, they managed to edge Great Britain 12-7 to book a spot in the main cup quarterfinals, where they were rematched with Australia, who beat them 21-0.
Now Kevin Wambua’s lads have less than a week to gear up for the final leg in Bordeaux from June 5–7 in France, where they must finish inside the top eight overall to guarantee a slot for next season and fight their way back to the main stage.
Kenya 7s Valladolid 7s 2026 Results
Friday, May 29
- Shujaa 10-15 Australia
- Shujaa 0-14 South Africa
Saturday, May 30
- Shujaa 12-7 Great Britain
Main Cup Quarter-final
- Shujaa 0-21 Australia
Sunday, May 31
Seventh-Place Playoff
- Shujaa 5-14 France
Kenya 7s Hong Kong 7s Results
Friday, April 17
- Shujaa 5-14 Australia
- Shujaa 12-28 New Zealand
Saturday, April 18
- Shujaa 17-10 USA Eagles
- Shujaa 22-26 South Africa
Sunday, April 19
- Shujaa 21-7 France – Seventh-Place Playoff