Kenya Sevens head coach Kevin Wambua wants the Kenya Rugby Union
to enlist Shujaa in three satellite tournaments to complement the three
World Sevens Series tournaments they will feature in next season.
Shujaa are among the four teams dropping to Division Two following the reduction of the elite tournament teams from 12 to eight.
Under
the new format, Shujaa will play only three tournaments, a far cry from
the six they played in in the just concluded season.
Wambua
observed: “We are urging KRU to enable us to play in three satellite
Sevens tournaments to complement the three that we are going to play in
the series. These additional tournaments will help us stay sharp as we
seek qualification to the top tier for the 2026-2027 season.”
Wambua said they are devastated by the reduction of the core teams.
“The
team was disappointed but it’s out of our control. There is nothing
much you can do. We now turn our attention to which three tournaments we
will play in and the dates,” noted Wambua.
The
tactician expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance across the
season, where they finished ninth overall with 36 points.
“It’s
been a journey. We were relegated two years ago, fought back into the
elite tournaments and qualified for the Paris Olympics. Credit to the
boys. They have worked hard and played well. We can only get better in
the years to come,” said Wambua.
Shujaa had mixed results in the final leg of the series at the Los Angeles Sevens, winning two and losing two matches.
They
began the tournament by losing 19-12 to Samoa before recovering to beat
Portugal 26-14. They suffered more heartbreak when they lost 17-12 to
the United States in extra time.
In the playoff final, Shujaa demolished Canada 24-5. They will be joined by the USA, Uruguay and Germany in the second tier.
The
team is expected to take a break for the next couple of weeks before
resuming training for the Africa Cup Sevens championships on June 21-22
in Mauritius.
Kenya
Lionesses will also play in the Division Two tournament next season
after mixed performances in Los Angeles. They lost 33-14 to Spain and
28-10 to Brazil and beat Colombia 7-5 to finish third in their pool.
In
the playoff final, the Lionesses edged South Africa 17-14. Captain
Grace Okulu termed the win over South Africa as significant.
“The
victory was not only emotional but historic. I’m so overwhelmed with
the results. The girls worked hard for this. We will use Division Two as
a platform to get to the top stage. We are just beginning,” she said.
