Rugby: Shujaa finish second in Vancouver 7s

FILE: Rugby Sevens team in Kurume City, Japan, on July 13, 2021. [Edward Alusa/Team Kenya]

Kenya finished second after a 38-5 cup final defeat to South Africa at the Vancouver Sevens held at the BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on Monday morning.

This was Shujaa's first Cup final in the World Rugby Sevens series in three seasons.

Daniel Taabu was Shujaa’s sole try scorer in the final as Innocent Simiyu’s charges collected 18 points to sit second on the series log after the first Canadian outing.

They had earlier defeated USA 19-14 to set up a semifinal berth against Ireland whom they defeated 38-5.

Earlier, the team had finished second in Pool A, defeating Spain 17-5 and Mexico 45-7 before going down 14-33 to South Africa.

The last time Kenya had reached the final was during the 2017/2018 World Sevens Series.

Interestingly, it was at the Vancouver Sevens and Hong Kong Sevens where they lost to Fiji 31-12 and 24-12 in both occasions.

It was the first all-African Cup final since 2008 Adelaide, and the only one in the series' history.

Attention now shifts to the season ending Edmonton Sevens next weekend still in Canada.