IRB 2014/2015: Kenya women’s team fail to conquer Hong Hong

The Kenya National Women’s team missed out on an opportunity to play in all the six legs of the IRB 2014/2015 women’s Sevens world series.
Playing at the Shek Kip Mei Sports Ground in Hong Kong on Saturday, the side finished on 11th position out of twelve teams that took part in the tournament. The top four teams in the tournament have now qualified for core status in the world series.
The four include champions Fiji, China and semi finalists France and South Africa. The four teams now join defending champions New Zealand, Australia, Canada, England, Russia, Spain and USA as core teams on the 2014/15 Series.
The IRB Women’s World Series kicks off in Dubai in December and will also be hosted in Brazil, USA, and England before it concludes in The Netherlands in May.
The Kenyan team is expected back and will have a lot to ponder given that they only won one game in the tournament which was against the last placed team Mexico 55-0.
Kenya fell to Japan 31-0, Fiji 45-0 and Argentina 19-5 on the first day, while on the second day they lost 14-12 to hosts Hong Kong. The results were a clear indication of the gap between Kenya and international sides.
The results will have further ramifications for the Kenyan side because the top four teams on the 2014/15 Series will qualify for Rugby Sevens’ debut at the Olympic Games 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. This means the Women’s side will be watching from home as their male counterparts compete at the event.
The side will now be looking to lift their spirits with a good performance at the Safaricom Sevens slotted for 26-28 september, where they are likely to have African competitors such as their neighbours Uganda.