Kenya lose to Canada, beat Uruguay in Las Vegas Sevens

By Bs Mulavi

Kenya team kicked off the Las Vegas World Sevens rugby campaign in lukewarm fashion as they lost 19-12 to Canada before beating Uruguay 12-7.

The USA leg of the IRB circuit turned out to be complete opposite of the Wellington leg last weekend where both finalists in New Zealand – Kenya and England – struggled to get their momentum right in USA.

England lost both their matches to Fiji and Portugal while Kenya struggled to get to stamp down their foot and reclaim the form they exhibited in Wellington.

Kenya did not enjoy as much possession as they did in Wellington, which meant they were put under intense pressure during the little spells they had the ball.

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Both Willy Ambaka and Collins Injera had very little space to make their runs as Kenya struggled to penetrate defences of porous Uruguayan side that had conceded 45-0 in their match against South Africa.

It was not all bad though from the side, as they still put in a massive effort in the contact area, but were however compromised by lapses in concentration. This saw them trail against Canada who were up to the battle both physically and mentally.

The loss to Canada meant Kenya finished the day second in the group but are yet to qualify for the Main Cup quarterfinals, which was to be decided late last night in the last pool game against South Africa.

South Africa became the second side to end day one with a 100 per cent record, adding a 17-5 victory against Canada to an impressive 45-0 victory over the only non-core side competing in Las Vegas, Uruguay.

Fiji were the first team to qualify for the Main Cup quarterfinals as they won both of their opening matches on day one of the USA Sevens at the Sam Boyd Stadium, narrowly holding on to a 14-12 victory against Scotland, with Russell Weir narrowly missing a last-minute penalty drop goal.

New Zealand also won both of their two matches on day one, conceding just five points in the process. Belgium Tuatagaloa helped the reigning Series champions beat France 21-0 with two of their three tries before they beat Wales 40-5 with Ben Lam crossing for a hat-trick.

On another competitive day of Rugby Sevens, results at the Sam Boyd Stadium have left all 16 teams still capable of qualifying for the Cup quarter finals on day two. If three teams are level on competition points at the end of the pool stages, the team with the highest points difference will go through to the Cup quarters.

Spain bounced back from an opening defeat to defending champions Samoa to produce a remarkable performance and beat Australia, ending their impressive run which had yielded nine wins in their last 10 matches.

Four teams – defending champions Samoa, Fiji, South Africa and New Zealand – each won their opening two matches on Friday.The biggest surprise was Spain’s 24-14 win over Australia after they had lost 19-12 to the Samoans.