Kenya sevens national team 'Shujaa' have been drawn with Coach Mike Friday’s USA again in the second event of the 2021/22 World Rugby Sevens Series (Dubai II) slated for December 3rd to 4th.
Shujaa, who finished Dubai Sevens I in position eight with 10 points, will also face Australia and Canada in Pool “B”. Pool “A” comprises Dubai I winners South Africa alongside Great Britain, Ireland and Japan, while Argentina, Fiji, France and Spain complete Pool “C”.
Much was expected from Coach Innocent “Namcos” Simiyu’s men in Dubai Sevens I after completing the two-leg 2021 Series in third place behind champions South Africa and runners-up Great Britain.
However, Shujaa won just one match out of the six the team played.
Shujaa began their campaign with losses against the USA 14-7 and Argentina 22-17 before winding the Pool “B” matches with an emphatic 26-12 win against Spain.
This victory along with France’s 24-14 win against Canada in Pool “A” matches saw Kenya sneak into the Cup quarter-finals as the second third best team behind Ireland.
Kenya was blown away by Fiji in the second half, losing 19-5 in the quarter-final to drop into the ranking matches for positions five to eight.Here, Kenya again suffered 33-5 thrashing from Great Britain in the fifth place semi-final before being outwitted by Ireland 29-7 in the seventh place final.
“Not the best performance in Dubai Sevens I but we take the lessons and prepare for the next weekend (Dubai Sevens II),” Simiyu said on Saturday (November 27th) night after admitting his boys made a lot of unforced errors.
Standings after Dubai Sevens I
1. South Africa - 22 points
2. USA - 19
3. Argentina - 17
4. Fiji - 15
5. Australia - 13
6. Great Britain - 12
7. Ireland - 11
8. Kenya - 10
9. France - 8
10. Canada - 7
11. Spain - 6
12. Japan - 5