KENYA’S DEFENCE EXPOSED: Mixed fortunes as Sevens rugby team maintains eighth spot in IRB standings with 43 points

RUGBYU-SEVENS-ENG-KEN Dan Bibby (back) of England tackles Augustine Lugonzo of Kenya during their rugby match of the Dubai leg of IRB's Sevens World Series on December 4, 2015. AFP PHOTO / MARWAN NAAMANI

Kenya national Sevens team experienced mixed fortunes on the second day of Sydney Sevens.

Playing against much tougher competition compared with the first day, Kenya's defensive frailty was massively exposed as they lost 28-12 to Fiji in the Main Cup Quarterfinal.

They then won 24-21 over USA, but lost 24-0 to Argentina in the Plate final.

Much to Kenya's consternation, is the fact that they had poor starts to all the three games. It gets worse at times. In their match against Fiji, it took the team about five minutes before they made their first pass.

The only difference between the games was that Kenya was able to fight back in their game against USA, but couldn't do so against Fiji and Argentina.

Speaking after their game against Fiji, captain Osea Kolinisau said, "It was a tough game despite the scoreline. They are a very good side and have been making the quarter-finals since Dubai, so we are happy to come through."

After the USA match, Kenya's captain Andrew Amonde said: "Most of the first half we didn't have the ball, and when we got it in the second half, we were able to execute what we wanted to do. We worked very hard."

It became quite evident that Kenya struggled considerably when they didn't have possession and it took them sometime before they could assert themselves into the game. If head coach Benjamin Ayimba is to remedy this, he will be keen to push his forwards to tackle harder and get the turnover ball.

Away from the overall game-plan, Kenya will be particularly pleased with the performance of some key players. On Saturday, Oscar Ouma gave a good account if himself and a spirited performance by Oscar Ayodi saw him named in the tournament's best players list.

Meanwhile, Argentina coach Santiago Gomez was elated after his side defeated Kenya, saying: "It was a very good tournament and we finished with this Plate so I am very happy and proud of the development of this team. We have a long way to go, but we are happy with these steps."

New Zealand remain third after their 27-24 win over Australia. Fiji (69), who reclaimed top spot, defeated South Africa 26-12 to finish third in Sydney and the second-place Blitzboks with points difference separating the three teams at the top.