Shujaa post mixed results on day one in HSBC SVNS playoff in Madrid
31st May 2024
Shujaa will now play their last game against Chile on Saturday at 2018EAT before knowing who they will face in the crunch playoffs.
- Shujaa are seeking immediate promotion back to the SVNS Series after being relegated in 2023.
- They need to finish among the top four teams with eight nations taking part in the 2024 HSBC Sevens Series promotion/relegation play-off.
- Kenya is in Pool B alongside Chile, Samoa and Spain while Pool A has USA, Canada, Uruguay and Germany.
The men’s national rugby 7s side, Shujaa, produced
contrasting performances on the opening day of the crunch HSBC SVNS promotion
and relegation playoff tourney taking place in Madrid as they beat Samoa in
their opening Pool B match before losing their second encounter to hosts Spain.
Needing to finish among the top four teams in order to gain
immediate promotion back to the World Rugby Sevens Series, Shujaa got their
quest off to a perfect start as they silenced Samoa 19-12 in a thrilling
encounter.
In that match, a brace from the fast-rising Patrick Odongo and
co-captain Vincent Onyala helped the Kevin Wambua-coached side to fend off a
Samoa side that tried to mount a comeback from 12-0 down.
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Onyala’s converted try and an unconverted effort by Odongo
had given Kenya the lead just four minutes in but the Samoans refused to back
down and managed to level the scores at the half time break through Opetai and
Alofipo.
Odongo’s second try of the match that was converted proved enough
to stop the Samoans in the tracks as Kenya held on for the victory.
In the second game, a clinical Spain denied Shujaa possession
as they gave their home fans some reason to cheer with their 5-10 win.
Spanish veteran Pol Pla and Trapaga scored the two tries
that got the job done with Onyala scoring what only proved to be a mere consolation
as Kenya missed chances to alter the scoreline late in the match.
Of course we were disappointed losing the quarter-finals to
Germany in Munich but we picked up valuable lessons from the result and the
tournament in general.
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playoffs
“We had a one-week camp in France (Miramas) where we did a
lot of technical and tactical review with the team. Our focus areas included attack/defence
frameworks, set Piece setup and opposition analysis.
We also worked on improving our situational awareness and decision-making
during games, SWOT Analysis on Pool Opposition and the progress has been quite
positive individually and collectively.
We as a team understand the task at hand and are fully
committed to the challenge,” Wambua said after beating Samoa.
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Shujaa will now play their last game against Chile on
Saturday at 2018EAT before knowing who they will face in the crunch playoffs.
The competition format involves the two pools of four teams
to decide who plays who in the all-important playoff matches on Sunday, with
the winners of the resulting four cross-over matches securing their place in
HSBC SVNS 2025.
The losing teams will enter the regional qualification
pathway for the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025.
Pool A has USA, Canada, Uruguay and Germany.