Shujaa exit Valladolid Sevens in quarter-finals

Shujaa scrum-half Samuel Asati (centre) tries to evade a tackle from Great Britain defenders during their Valladolid Sevens final Group A match in Spain yesterday. [KRU Media]

 

Kenya Sevens side Shujaa kept alive their hopes of returning to the top level of the World Rugby Sevens Series  despite suffering a quarter-final exit at the ongoing Valladolid 7s in Spain yesterday.

Shujaa endured a difficult start in the second leg of the SVNS Championship after losing their opening two Group A matches on Friday. Kenya first went down 15-10 to Australia before suffering a 14-0 defeat against South Africa.

The back-to-back losses left Kenya in a difficult position and in danger of an early elimination from the tournament.

However, Shujaa recovered in their final preliminary match against Great Britain to seal a place in the last eight.

Festus Shiasi and Patrick Odongo scored the crucial tries as Kenya edged out Great Britain 12-7 in a tense encounter. The victory handed Kenya four points, enough to see them qualify for the quarter-finals as one of the two best third-placed teams.

Australia and South Africa finished above Kenya in Group A while France also advanced after collecting six points in Group C.

Despite the 21-0 quarter-final exit to Australia, Shujaa still have an opportunity to improve their overall ranking through the classification matches scheduled for later today.

Kenya are currently seventh in the SVNS Championship standings with eight points following their mixed performance at last month’s Hong Kong Sevens.

The team is targeting a stronger finish in Spain as they push for promotion back to the World Rugby Sevens Series next season.

The final leg of the SVNS Championship will be played next week in France, where teams will make a final push for places in next season’s Division One competition.

At the end of the championship, the top eight teams will secure places as core sides in the SVNS Division One next season, while the bottom four teams will be relegated to Division Two.

Meanwhile, Kabras Sugar once again underlined their dominance in local rugby after defeating Ugandan champions Black Pirates 25-12 to retain the Enterprise Cup title at RFUEA Grounds.

The victory saw the Sugarmen complete an impressive six-peat in the competition.

Kabras have now won the Enterprise Cup titles in 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026.

It also marked the fourth straight season that Kabras have completed a domestic double, further cementing their status as Kenya’s dominant rugby side.

Kabras made a bright start to the final and took the lead inside the opening five minutes when Kenyan international Derrick Ashihundu crossed over in the right corner for the opening try. Ntabeni Dukisa missed the conversion.

Black Pirates responded strongly and eventually went ahead after Alex Aturinda broke from the base of a scrum to score a try. William Nkore added the conversion to hand the Ugandan side a 7-5 lead.

 The millers quickly regained control through their powerful rolling maul. Veteran forward George Nyambua powered over for Kabras’ second try before adding another shortly afterwards to complete his brace as Kabras stretched their advantage to 15-7.

In the second half, Kabras continued to dominate proceedings.

Patrick Sabatia raced over for another try after collecting a well-weighted cross-kick from Dukisa.

Ashihundu then grabbed his second try of the afternoon in the 55th minute after Walter Okoth spotted a gap in the Pirates defence and released him with a quick pass. The try pushed Kabras further ahead at 25-7.

Kabras were later reduced to 14 men after Hillary Odhiambo was shown a yellow card in the 66th minute.

Black Pirates used the numerical advantage to score their second try through Arnold Karuhanga following sustained pressure from a scrum, but it was not enough to stop Kabras from lifting yet another Enterprise Cup title.

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