The Kenya Sevens team, Shujaa have a tricky assignment against hosts Germany on Sunday in the cup quarterfinal of the third tournament of the World Rugby Challenger Series in Munich.

A win would cement their place in the promotion-relegation qualifier in Madrid, Spain with a possible return to the core status. In Munich, Kenya finished top of Pool C by beating Japan, Portugal and Chile. The race for the slot in Madrid is still finely poised between the top five teams – Uruguay, Kenya, Chile, Germany and Hong Kong China who all qualified for the quarters. Others are Tonga, Georgia and Uganda.

There was a last minute drama in their last pool match against a stubborn and physical Chile side who minted a penalty from the kick off. They called for a scrum in the middle and gained good ground before forcing a scrum inside the 25. As they exerted pressure, the Chileans were caught offside to Kenya’s relief. 

The initial pressure paid off when Luca Avelli scored a try after the Kenyan defense was sucked in. Tom Salas converted for a 7-0 lead. The reply was almost immediate when Tony Omondi passed the ball to John Okoth who was unable to tuck it in and race clear.

Made amends

Shujaa made amends when Vincent Onyala broke through and bumped off two Chilean players before passing to Kevin Wekesa who on the tackle offloaded to Nygel Amaitsa to score.

Chile, who led 7-5 at half time, came back with more energy and missed two clear scoring chances with their last pass begging. It was Onyala who put Kenya ahead after receiving an inside pass by Brian Tanga. 

But, Federico Kennedy scored at death to level the scores and push the game into sudden-death. From the kick off, the forwards palmed the ball back and Chrisant Ojwang scored the golden points. In Dubai, Kenya beat Chile 12-7 and overcame the same team 31-12 in Montevideo. 

Easily beat Japan

Shujaa easily beat Japan 28-12 in their opening match with tries from John Okoth, Wekesa, Patrick Odongo and Ojwang. Anthony Omondi added four conversions. Japan replied with a try each by Shotaro Tsuoka and Moeki Fukushi. Ryota Kano kicked over one conversion. 

The second match against Portugal started at a cracking space when Manuel Fati scored the opening try within one minute. Manuel Vareiro missed the conversion before Kenya bounced back to score five tries through Okoth, Amaitsa, George Ooro, Ojwang and Onyala. Omondi converted four tries for a comfortable 33-5 win.

Shujaa squad: Vincent Onyala, Tony Omondi, Kevin Wekesa, John Okoth, Brian Tanga, George Ooro, Patrick Odongo, Samuel Asati, Herman Humwa, Nygel Amaitsa, Lamech Ambetsa, Chrisant Ojwang.

Day one results in Munich and knock out draw

Pool A: Georgia, Germany, Papua New Guinea, Uruguay

Germany 28 Georgia 10, Uruguay 47 Papua New Guinea 12, Germany 47 Papua New Guinea 5, Uruguay 40 Georgia 12, Georgia 27 Papua New Guinea 17, Uruguay 24 Germany 21.

Pool B: Hong Kong China, Mexico,Tonga,  Uganda

Uganda 26 Tonga 12, Hong Kong China 54 Mexico 7, Uganda 33 Mexico 12, Hong Kong China 45 Tonga 5, Tonga 35 Mexico 14, Hong Kong China 35 Uganda 12.  

Pool C: Chile, Japan, Kenya, Portugal.

Chile 39 Portugal 5, Kenya 28 Japan 12, Chile 26 Japan 12, Kenya 33 Portugal 5, Portugal 27 Japan 7, Kenya 17 Chile 12. 

Day two order of play

Cup quarters: Kenya v Germany, Hong Kong China v Tonga, Uruguay v Georgia, Uganda v Chile.

9th place semi-final: Japan v Papua New Guinea, Portugal v Mexico.

Men’s standings: Uruguay 36 (109), Kenya 36 (83), Chile 32 (78), Germany 26 (106), Hong Kong China 26 (96), Tonga 18 (-13), Japan 15 (32), Uganda 14 (63), Georgia 10 (-76), Portugal 9 (-54), Papua New Guinea 4 (-58), Mexico 2 (-366).

Draw for the playoff in Madrid, Spain

Pool A: USA, Canada, Challenger 1, Challenger 4.

Pool B: Spain, Samoa, Challenger 2, Challenger 3.