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Nairobi set to host another major international rugby sevens tournament
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Reading Time: 3min | Sat. 20.06.26. | 11:37
Kenya previously hosted an HSBC SVNS 2 tournament in February this year, where Shujaa finished third behind Germany and the United States
Kenya is set to host a leg of the HSBC SVNS 2 circuit once again in 2027 after Kenya Sevens failed to secure promotion to the top tier of the HSBC SVNS.
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The confirmation was made by Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) Chairperson Harriet Okach, who revealed that Nairobi will be among the three host cities for the second-tier competition next season.
While the exact dates and venue are yet to be announced, the return of the tournament to Kenya offers local fans another opportunity to watch international sevens rugby on home soil.
Kenya previously hosted an HSBC SVNS 2 tournament in February this year, where Shujaa finished third behind Germany and the United States.
Speaking during the launch of the 2026 National Sevens Circuit, Okach called on sponsors to continue supporting Kenyan rugby beyond the domestic competition and into the international season.
“We appreciate you for walking the journey with us, knowing that we are going to do the six legs, and then we go into Safari 7s. We hope you will stay with us, not just as Shujaa partners but as Kenya Rugby Union partners.
And when we go into the new season for the league and next year, when we will be hosting the HSBC SVNS leg in Nairobi again,” Okach said.
“I am saying this so that you prepare your wallets. You can go back and prepare yourselves now that we are getting into the new financial year.
But this is just to thank you and the clubs for coming again to host the National 7s Circuit. I know it is not easy because most of our clubs are community clubs,” she continued.
The announcement comes just weeks after Shujaa failed to earn promotion to the elite HSBC SVNS competition in Bordeaux, France.
Kenya's stay among the world's top sevens nations came to an end on Sunday, 7 June, after the USA defeated Fiji 17-14 in the fifth-place playoff of the promotion and relegation tournament.
The result pushed the Americans to 17 points, one ahead of Kenya's tally of 16, condemning Kevin Wambua's side to Division 2.
Earlier, Shujaa had kept their hopes alive by beating Uruguay 26-7 to secure an 11th-place finish. However, their fate depended on Fiji defeating the USA, a result that ultimately did not materialise.
The promotion failure capped a difficult weekend for Kenya, who managed just one win from five matches in Bordeaux. Losses to South Africa, Fiji, Great Britain and Germany left them with too much ground to recover despite their convincing victory over Uruguay.
Against the South Americans, Vincent Onyala opened the scoring before Uruguay responded through Francisco Landauer to leave the sides level at 7-7 heading into halftime.
Kenya improved significantly after the break, with John Okoth and David Nyangige among the try scorers as Shujaa pulled away for a comfortable 26-7 victory.
However, the win was not enough to secure promotion in a season that saw major changes to the global sevens structure.
World Rugby reduced the number of core teams in the top division from 12 to eight, forcing teams outside the automatic qualification places into a promotion and relegation competition against leading Challenger Series sides.
The new format significantly increased the pressure on established teams, with even long-standing core nations facing the possibility of demotion.
For Kenya, the restructuring proved costly.
Despite showing flashes of promise throughout the season and producing several memorable performances, inconsistency ultimately undermined their campaign. The poor showing in Bordeaux left Shujaa vulnerable in a format where the margin for error was slim.
The focus now shifts to HSBC SVNS 2, where Kenya will aim to rebuild and mount a fresh challenge for promotion back to the top tier.