Shujaa finish 11th in Sydney 7s

The men’s national rugby 7s side Shujaa finished their 2023 Sydney 7s tournament in 11th place following their narrow 26-24 loss against Tonga in the 9th place semifinal staged on Sunday morning at the Allianz Stadium.

In the high scoring affair, Kenya were left undone by a failed conversion attempt as that proved to be the only difference in the marginal game where both teams scored four tries.

Brian Tanga and Alvin ‘Buffa’ Otieno found the two opening tries for Kenya where only one was converted as Tonga grabbed a 12-14 lead following a successful conversion to both of their tries.

In the second half, Buffa and Tanga again scored two tries for Kenya but their attempts were nullified by Tonga’s two tries which ensured Keny ended up losing the match 24-26, consequently settling for 11th place.

Mashemeji Derby: Gor Mahia out to extend imperious record against arch rivals AFC Leopards

Prior to the game against Tonga that sent them packing from the fifth outing of the 2023 HSBC World Rugby season, the Damian McGrath coached side had secured a hard fought 17-12 victory against Spain in the ninth place quarterfinal to ensure safe passage.

In that match, the team had to fight all the way till extra time to secure the sudden death 17-12 victory over the Spaniards who had proved hard nut to crack.

Menengai Oilers’ Dennis Abukuse spotted a slight gap off a ruck and fully exploited the space he had been given, unleashing a pair of clean heels to evade his approaching markers in a move that ended with a match winning try.

Shujaa Results in Sydney 7s

Group Stages

Kenya 5-31 South Africa

Kenya 0-33 New Zealand

Kenya 24-19 Uruguay

Kenya 17-12 Spain – 9th place QF

Kenya 24-16 Tonga – 9th place SF