POOR RUN PERSISTS

Shujaa drop to classification matches after loss to Samoa

Their latest defeat was 26-0 against Samoa on Thursday.

In Summary

•Kenyans have yet to win a match at the pool of the Olympics since Sevens rugby was re-admitted to the Olympics at the 2016 Rio Games in Brazil.

•Kevin Wambua's charges were hoping to beat the Pacific Islanders and gain entry to the main cup quarters as one of the two best losers with a big win over their opponents.

Shujaa will play in the classification category for the third consecutive Olympic Games after losing all their preliminary matches in the Paris Olympics.

Kenya are yet to win a match at the pool of the Olympics since Sevens rugby was introduced in the Olympics programme at Rio 2016.

Their latest defeat was 26-0 against Samoa on Thursday. Shujaa had lost their opening match 31-12 to Argentina and 21-7 to Australia in the second preliminary match.

Kevin Wambua's charges were hoping to beat the Pacific Islanders and gain entry to the main cup quarters as one of the two best losers with a big win over their opponents.

All that expectation vanished into the thin air in the hot conditions of the Parisian weather as the Samoans dominated the opening exchanges and their efforts bore fruit when Motu Opetai landed the opening try for a 5-0 lead.

Kenya fought back and almost levelled matters but John Okoth was tackled short of the line and the Samoans were able to turn over the ball and clear their lines to avert danger. 

Matters went from bad to worse for Kenya when forward Kevin Wekesa was sent to the sin-bin for a professional foul at the lineout, leaving Kenya to play with six men.

The Samoans almost doubled the advantage just before the interval but winger Patrick Odongo put in a strong cover tackle to deny Apelu Maliko as Samoa led 5-0 at the interval.

On resumption, Samoa held onto possession, disrupting Shujaa's efforts to score a try.

Co-captain Tony Onyango followed Wekesa to the naughty chair for kicking the ball away when the referee had called for a lineout.

A try from Vaa Apelu Maliko and a last-minute one from Steve Onosai were enough to eliminate Wambua's charges from the medal bracket and leave the side to play in the 9-12 place semis