Kenya rugby 7s men's national team ( Shujaa) lost against the United States of America ( USA) and finished the Nairobi leg of the HSBC SVNS Division two in third place, while their ladies counterparts, the Lionesses, came in fifth on Sunday at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya.
Speaking after the final whistle against the USA, Kenya's gaffer Kevin Wambua admitted the toughness of the final game against the USA on Sunday, where tactician Zack Test led his charges to a 7-0 lead by half time, even though Kenya's talismanic captain George ' Japolo ' Ooro attempted a comeback, the Americans proved a tough cookie to bite away on foreign soil.
"Our goal was to win this leg; my boys really gave a good shift. The fans have been amazing in pushing us to victory, but unfortunately, it wasn't our day to clinch first place. We shall go again," Wambua promised
Shujaa began their campaign on Saturday morning by dominating Canada 29-12, before thrashing Belgium 33-0 and winding up Saturday with a 15-10 triumph over Germany.
Sunday was the day to be, as Kenya warmed up with Uruguay at lunchtime and made mince meat out of them 17-7, as they waited the match of the day against USA, an evening coffee or tea time clash for city dwellers, but a calabash of ' Uji' for village settlers, 5:02 pm was the time, only for Wambua's charges to lose, a sombre mood engulfing both the cities and villages skylines in Kenya.
Simon Odongo's Lionesses had a paltry outing, though they began their Saturday morning campaign against Brazil, winning 15-12 and getting the crowd going in anticipation of good tidings, only to lose by a similar margin of scores against China and finished Saturday by another narrow 12-10 loss against South Africa.
On Sunday, Lionesses captain Sheila Chajira stepped up and led a battalion to assault Argentina 7-5, but again, found the going tough and lost their last match against Spain 14-7.
Kenya's captain, George Ooro, was named player of the tournament, a morale booster as both genders of the national team now head home and back to the drawing board with all eyes and focus shifting to Montevideo, Uruguay 21-22 March this year for the second outing of the series.
Official Men's Category HSBC SVNS 2 Table Standings:
1. Germany- 13 Points
2. USA - 12
3. Kenya Sevens- 12
4. Uruguay - 8
5. Belgium - 6
6. Canada - 4
Official HSBC SVNS 2 Women's Table Standings
1. Argentina - 13 Points
2. South Africa - 12
3. Spain - 12
4. China - 8
5. Kenya Lionesses - 6
6. Brazil - 4
