Resplendent Shujaa complete fairytale ride with promotion back to World Rugby Sevens Series
2nd June 2024
The Kenya 7s beat Germany in the crunch promotion/relegation playoff to secure their ticket.
- Shujaa were relegated from the World Rugby Sevens Series in May 2023.
- They managed to get immediate promotion at their first time of asking.
- Vincent Onyala. Chrisant Ojwang. John Okoth. George Ooro and Kevin Wekesa scored the important tries over Germany.
Vincent Onyala. Chrisant Ojwang. John Okoth. George Ooro.
Kevin Wekesa.
Those are the names of the five players who scored a try
apiece as Kenya gained immediate promotion back to the World Rugby Sevens
Series (now known as SVNS Series) following their 33-15 victory over Germany in
their crunch promotion/relegation playoff match held on Sunday afternoon in the
Grand Final tournament staged in Madrid, Spain.
Joining the pentagon were Anthony Omondi, Brian Tanga, Patrick Odongo, Samuel Asati, Herman Humwa, Nygel Amaitsa, Lamech Ambetsa, Chrisant Ojwang and Brian Mutua who will all go down into the history books as the 13-man squad that lifted Kenya back to the topflight after being relegated back in May 2023 in London.
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In the technical bench sat Kevin ‘Bling’ Wambua (Head
coach), Louis ‘Fadhee’ Kisia (Assistant Coach), Steve Sewe (Team Manager),
Andrew Amonde (Strength & Conditioning coach), Lamech Bogonko (Team Physician)
and Chris Brown (World Rugby S&C consultant) who steered the ship back to
the top tier in under one year since being appointed in August 2023.
In the crunch match where the winner would be assured of
promotion, Kenya started under pressure as Umeh gave German the lead within the
opening minute after a blistering start.
Onyala however provided the instant response for Kenya as he
hit back immediately with Omondi converting to take Kenya 7-5 up.
ALSO READ: Bling, Fadhee, Sewe: The Kenya 7s Bench Brewed Over 18 Years of Friendship
The Germans benefited from having a numerical advantage and
Koch touched down their second unconverted try to take the favour back to them
at 7-10 but Ojwang, who had been shown the yellow card, got back to the field
and atoned for his mistake when he evaded two markers before touching as Kenya
led 12-10 following an unconverted try.
A quick start to the second half saw Okoth bag the team’s third
try that Omondi converted to ensure that Germany would need to score at least
twice to overcome the 19-10 scoreline.
They managed to score, but it was just once, when Heid
crossed over the whitewash to reduce the deficit to 19-15.
Ooro and Wekesa’s converted attempts then safely ensured
Kenya emphatically gained promotion back to the Series after a fairytale one
year following their relegation.
The promotion proved to be the cherry on top of the cake after the team also secured a ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympics after stunning heavyweights in the Rugby Africa 7s Cup and winning the Safari 7s title.