Shujaa seek redemption against Ireland

Vuiviwa Naduvalo

Fiji’s Vuiviwa Naduvalo is tackled during the mens match between Fiji and Kenya during day one of the World Rugby Sevens series at FMG Stadium in Hamilton on January 21, 2023.
 

Photo credit: Michael Bradley | AFP

What you need to know:

  • Shujaa took off from wrong blocks when they fell to the World Rugby Sevens Series leaders New Zealand All Blacks 29-05 in their opening Pool “D” match on Friday
  • Shujaa were unable to make use of their second half possession, and twice kicked away possession, both times punished by Cody Vai and Rokolisoa who landed his brace to confirm the full time score
  • Kenya must produce a good performance in the next three legs of the series in Hong Kong, Singapore and Toulouse if they are to avoid relegation play-offs

Kenya Sevens start on the back foot when they confront  Ireland in their second duel of the Hong Kong Sevens at the Hong Kong Stadium on Saturday 6.28am. 

Shujaa took off from wrong blocks when they fell to the World Rugby Sevens Series leaders New Zealand All Blacks 29-05 in their opening Pool “D” match on Friday.

They will now be seeking redemption against the Irish, who beat them 19-14 in the ninth place quarter-final at Cape Town before renewing their continental rivalry with South Africa in their last pool outing on Saturday 10.25am.

Blitzbokke launched their quest in Hong Kong swiftly when they edged out Ireland 14-07 in another Pool "D" match.  

Ireland's best performance this year was when they reached the Dubai Sevens final before losing to South Africa 21-05 in the final.

New Zealand, winners in Sydney and Los Angeles, top the Series with 120 points. South Africa are placed seventh with 89 points while Ireland are eighth with 83.

They have met South Africa three times this season to win on one occasion.

Shujaa lost to Blitzbokke 27-12 in the pool stage in Dubai where the South Africans went all the way to retain the title, beating Ireland 21-05 in the final.

Shujaa would again go down to Blitzbokke 31-05 in the preliminaries in Sydney where the South Africans dug deep to reach the final before losing to New Zealand 38-0.

All Blacks dominated from onset with Leroy Carter, Dylan Collier and Akulia Rokolisoa landing a try each as Ngarohi McGarvey-Black and Rokolisoa made the conversions to lead 19-0.

Shujaa skipper captain Nelson Oyoo struck back with a try but Kenya trailed 19-05 at the break.

Shujaa were unable to make use of their second half possession, and twice kicked away possession, both times punished by Cody Vai and Rokolisoa who landed his brace to confirm the full time score.

Kenya Sevens, who are placed 13th in the Series with 29 points, are fighting relegation. 

They must produce a good performance in the next three legs of the series in Hong Kong, Singapore and Toulouse if they are to avoid relegation play-offs. 

The 15th-placed core team based on accumulated Series points following the 10th round in Toulouse will be relegated.

The 12th, 13th and 14th placed teams at the end of Toulouse will enter a four-team relegation play-off together with the Challenger Series 2023 winners at the 12th and final round of the Series in London.

The winner will become the 12th core team in the 2023/24 Series, while the other three teams will enter their respective Regional Sevens Challenger Series.

The Challenger will continue to provide a pathway for teams to qualify for the World Rugby Sevens Series.

Subsequently, the top four teams after the final leg of the Series in London will automatically qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

If South Africa don't finish in top four like the previous years when they made it to the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics automatically, then they will have to qualify through the Africa qualifier that will now be quite competitive.