Determined Shujaa fend off Tonga to scrape through to Uruguay Challenger quarterfinals
9th March 2024
Shujaa needed nothing short of a win and they got the job done.
- Shujaa won 17-14 against Tonga.
- Tries by John Okoth, Tony Omondi and Nygel Amaitsa help the team get the crucial win.
- The team will face the winner in Pool C.
The men’s national 7s team, Shujaa, showed incredible grit
to book their spot in the main cup quarterfinals of the Uruguay Challenger
Series 2024.
This is after they defeated Tonga 17-14 in a do-or-die final
Pool A clash staged on Saturday night to confirm their progress to the last
eight in second place behind Portugal.
Needing nothing short of a win to advance, it is the Kevin Wambua-coached
side who got the perfect start as they raced to a 12-0 lead early on.
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First, sweet support play from John Okoth opened the scoring
for Kenya as the Menengai Oilers man was on hand to finish off a sublime move kickstarted
by Nygel Amaitsa’s clever feet work that drew in the Tongans before his offload
set Okoth through for the try successfully converted by Tony Omondi.
Omondi then got the team’s second try after some brilliant
team effort down the right ended with the co-captain dotting down.
Lameck Ambetsa and Amaitsa exchanged passes before offloading
for Omondi who only needed to touch down. He however failed to get the full
complement of points as he missed the conversion.
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Just before the break, Tonga got a lifeline with Kenya
reduced to six men as Siaosi Huihui pulled one back to reduce the deficit to
12-7 following a successful conversion.
Sione Tupou then bagged the second try which was also
converted to give Tonga a first-time 12-14 lead that set the match for an
exciting end.
With a moment of brilliance needed in the business end, substitute Ben Salem stepped up on the big stage as he drew in the Tongans with some clever thinking before switching the ball back to Amaitsa who sliced through the defense with the match-winning try as Kenya resolutely held on in the dying seconds for the crucial win.
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