Late try sees Kenya seal sevens spot at Olympic Games
Sports
By
Reuters
| Nov 15, 2015
JOHANNESBURG, Kenya booked their place in the men's rugby sevens tournament at the Olympic Games next year in dramatic fashion on Sunday after winning the African qualification tournament in Johannesburg.
Dennis Ombachi scored the winning try after the final buzzer had sounded as Kenya edged Zimbabwe 19-17 in the decider to seal their trip to Rio de Janeiro.
They join South Africa as the continent's two confirmed representatives after the Springboks sealed their place by finishing second in the 2014-15 Sevens World Series.
Zimbabwe, Tunisia and Morocco, who made up the rest of the top four in the African qualifier, now take part in a final qualification tournament involving 16 teams who fell short in their respective continental championships.
The date for that event has not yet been set, but must take place by the end of June next year. Only the winning team will play at the Olympics, completing the 12-team field.
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The other men's teams who have already sealed their place in Rio are hosts Brazil, Fiji, New Zealand, Great Britain, Argentina, USA, France, Japan and Australia.
Rio's sevens will be the first time the event has been staged at an Olympics, running from from Aug. 6-11. The 15-man game was played in four previous Games, the last being in 1924 when the gold was won by the U.S.