Kenya Sevens path to HSBC SVNS return after championship qualification

The Kenya national men's rugby sevens team, Shujaa, have taken a significant step towards reclaiming their place among the sport’s elite after qualifying for the HSBC SVNS World Championship Series.

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However, despite the milestone, their journey to HSBC SVNS Division One remains a challenging and competitive road.

Following their qualification, Shujaa will now face off against eight established top-tier sides: Fiji, South Africa, New Zealand, Spain, Argentina, Great Britain, France, and Australia in the World Championship Series.

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This stage will act as the ultimate battleground for promotion to the 2026/27 HSBC SVNS Division One.

The series will be played across three high-stakes tournaments. The opening leg will take place in Hong Kong from Friday, 17 to Sunday, 19 April, before the action shifts to Valladolid, Spain (Friday, 29 to Sunday, 31 May), and concludes in Bordeaux, France (Friday, 5 to Sunday, 7 June).

At the end of the circuit, the overall winners will be crowned world champions.

More importantly for Shujaa, only the top eight teams across the three events will secure promotion to Division One, while the bottom four will be relegated to Division II, raising the stakes for every match.

Shujaa’s qualification was sealed during the São Paulo leg of the HSBC SVNS II, where they delivered a string of impressive performances.

They opened their campaign with a dominant 38-7 victory over Germany, marking their third meeting of the season after previous encounters in Nairobi and Montevideo.

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Despite a narrow 14-12 loss to Belgium, Shujaa bounced back emphatically, thrashing Canada 40-0 in a result that ultimately confirmed their place in the World Championship Series.

They carried that momentum into day two, defeating Uruguay 26-14 before overcoming arch-rivals USA 31-14 to clinch bronze in Brazil.

Their performance in São Paulo was not an isolated success. Earlier in the season, Shujaa had already signalled their intent by finishing third at the Nairobi leg of the HSBC SVNS 2, suffering just one loss to the USA.

They followed it up with another third-place finish in Montevideo before securing second place in Brazil.

Under the revamped SVNS format, six teams per gender compete across three events, with only the top four progressing to the World Championship stage.

From there, they join the eight Division One teams in a final series that determines both the world champion and promotion to the top tier.