KENYA’S UNHAPPY ENDING: It was yet another below par show by Sevens rugby team

RUBGYU-SEVENS-KEN-AUS
Daniel Sikuta (R) of Kenya tackles Lewis Holland (L) of Australia during their rugby match on the first day of the Dubai leg of IRB's Sevens World Series

The national Sevens rugby team will end their HSBC Sevens World Series Campaign on the same note they kicked off in October last year; with a below par performance.

Losses to England (40-0) and to Scotland 26-12, meant they crashed out of contention for the Main Cup quarterfinals in the ongoing England leg of the circuit. This means Kenya has only qualified for one Main Cup competition this season of nine competitions, which was in February during the New Zealand leg. This is in stark contrast to two years ago, when they finished with 99 points in the circuit.

There were no pats on the back for the first day of the England leg as the hosts ran through a dejected side that was simply not up to the task on this day. Kenya did not have the zeal to fetch and retain possession, which meant the hosts played the ball at their own will thereby scoring three tries in each half, without a reply for Kenya.

Kenya were simply outdone by a team hungry to make it to the Olympics in front of a home crowd. With the team bruised, but not knocked out, Kenya headed into their next game of the tournament with renewed hopes of jump-starting their campaign.

The game was not easy as had been expected, given that once again, Scotland looked as the team that wanted victory more, with Kenya fighting for scraps. The Scots scored two tries in each half compared to Kenya’s one try in each half through Billy Odhiambo and Dennis Ombachi.

Kenya did not have to wait for their third game in the pool against Brazil to know if they would qualify for the Main Cup quarterfinal, given that they had already lost two vital games in the group. The side is now hoping to perform better in the Bowl Competition today.

Meanwhile, the two victories for England against Brazil and Kenya, not only guaranteed them a place in the Main Cup quarterfinals, but also ensured they will finish the overall circuit in fourth position, thereby guaranteeing them a place in the Olympics alongside Fiji, New Zealand and South Africa.

The English only need six points to guarantee them a top four finish, given that fifth placed Australia were 16 points adrift by the time the tournament kicked off and hence still had a mathematical chance of catching up with England if they won the tournament and England failed to reach the Main Cup quarterfinals.

The top four sides in the circuit will now proceed to the upcoming Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, whereas the last placed Japan will be relegated and replaced by Russia, who won the qualifiers.