Heartbreak as Shujaa suffer painful relegation to Division 2
Reading Time: 3min | Sun. 07.06.26. | 18:10
The Kenyan boys had hoped that Fiji would do them a favour by edging USA
Kenya Sevens’ stay among the HSBC SVNS elite came to an end on Sunday, 7 June after USA defeated Fiji 17-14 in Bordeaux, confirming Shujaa’s relegation to Division 2 for the 2027 season.
The result capped a disappointing weekend in France for Kevin Wambua’s charges, who managed just one win from five matches and ultimately fell short in their bid to retain a place in the top tier of the global sevens circuit.
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Earlier in the day, Kenya had done all they could by beating Uruguay 26-7 to finish 11th in the promotion and relegation tournament.
The victory lifted Shujaa to 16 points, but their fate was no longer in their hands.
Kenya needed Fiji to beat the USA in the fifth-place playoff.
Instead, the Americans edged Fiji 17-14 to move to 17 points, one more than Shujaa’s tally, condemning the East Africans to Division 2.
The relegation comes despite Kenya finishing ahead of several teams that would ordinarily have retained their status under the previous format.
This season marked a major structural shift in the HSBC SVNS Series, with World Rugby reducing the number of core teams in the top division from 12 to eight.
The move created a fierce battle for survival, with teams outside the top eight forced into a promotion and relegation competition against the best-performing Challenger Series sides.
As a result, even established core teams faced the risk of dropping out of the top division.
For Kenya, the new format proved costly.
Shujaa arrived in Bordeaux knowing they needed a strong performance to secure one of the available spots in the restructured top tier.
However, they endured a difficult start, losing all four of their opening matches.
Their campaign began with defeats to South Africa and Fiji in the pool stages before another loss to Great Britain ended their hopes of a higher finish.
A subsequent defeat to Germany further dented their survival chances and left them fighting for 11th place.
The victory over Uruguay was their only win of the tournament and came too late to alter the final standings.
Against the South Americans, Kenya started brightly through Vincent Onyala, whose converted try gave them an early 7-0 lead. Uruguay responded through Francisco Landauer to level matters at 7-7 heading into halftime.
Shujaa found another gear after the break, with John Okoth restoring their advantage before David Nyangige crossed for a converted try to put the match beyond reach. Kenya added a late score to complete a convincing 26-7 triumph.
Yet even that performance was not enough to save their status.
The outcome represents a bitter end to a season that had shown glimpses of promise, including memorable performances on the world stage and signs of progress under Wambua.
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However, inconsistency throughout the campaign and a poor showing in Bordeaux ultimately left Shujaa vulnerable in a season where the margin for error was significantly reduced by the competition’s restructuring.
Kenya will now turn their attention to Division 2, where they will seek to regroup and launch a fresh bid for promotion back to the top tier of world sevens rugby.