Shujaa to face Fiji and Uruguay at Vancouver Sevens on Friday
Rugby
By
Washington Onyango
| Mar 01, 2023
Kenya Sevens will renew their rivalry with Olympic champions Fiji, Great Britain and Uruguay in the seventh leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series set to take place in Vancouver in Canada from Friday.
Shujaa who dropped to 13th in the standings after a poor show at Los Angeles Sevens last weekend MUST pull up their socks starting with Vancouver Sevens if they are to avoid relegation.
In the just concluded Los Angeles leg, Kenya finished last in the competition despite having a promising start with victory against overall defending champions Australia. They picked one point.
According to World Rugby, the 15th ranked core teams and below based on accumulated Series points following the tenth round in Toulouse will be relegated.
The teams ranked 12th, 13th and 14th at the end of Toulouse will enter a four-team relegation play-off together with the Challenger Series 2023 winners at the eleventh and final round of the Series in London.
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The relegation play-off will be round-robin format with the top two teams then playing a final. The winner will become the 12th core team on the 2024 Series, while the other three teams will enter their respective Regional Sevens Championships in order to qualify for the 2024 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series.
Currently, Shujaa are 13th (relegation playoff position) with 22 points, seven points off the safety zone (position 11) and 10 points above the automatic relegation zone (position 15 and below).
Shujaa must now pick at least a maximum of 10 points for the remaining six legs before the end of the season.
In the other pools, Los Angeles winners New Zealand are in Group A alongside Cape Town champions Samoa, Spain, and the United States.
Group B includes Argentina, South Africa, France and Japan while Australia lead Group D alongside Ireland, Canada and Chile.
Vancouver Sevens Groups
Group A-New Zealand, Samoa, Spain, USA
Group B- Argentina, South Africa, France, Japan
Group C-Kenya, Great Britain, Uruguay, Fiji
Group D-Australia, Ireland, Canada, Chile