The dream footrace between Patrick Odongo and Marcos Moneta, the two fastest players in the World Rugby Sevens World Series becomes a reality when Kenya’s Shujaa and Argentina face off in the fifth place semi-final playoff at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Sunday, December 8, 2024.

Kenya who edged out Australia 19-12 in their opening match before narrowly losing to Spain 7-14 finished second in a competitive Pool B while Argentina lost 5-29 to South Africa who topped Pool C. The other fifth place semi-final play-off is between Great Britain and New Zealand.

The cup semifinals will see Spain battle it out with hosts South Africa while France and Fiji re-enact their 2024 Olympic final in Paris.

In the women’s category, an exciting USA lineup shook off a poor start in Dubai last weekend to cruise to the cup semifinals where they tackle Australia. New Zealand and France meet in the other semifinal. USA convincingly beat Fiji 31-0 and Great Britain 31-14 to finish top of Pool D. 

New format

The new format where teams are drawn in four pools of three in back-to-back competitions left no room for complacency. At the completion of the pool matches, the top teams marched to the cup semi-final with the second-placed teams dropping to the fifth place semi final playoffs.

While there were no surprises in the women’s category with the top teams advancing to the cup quarters, the men’s category was decided with the last pool matches. Fiji, winners in Dubai for the first time after 22 years, recorded the biggest win by beating Uruguay 70-7 before edging out Great Britain 17-12 in their second match.

Spain, who reached their second successive semi-final, continued with their historic form by overcoming a stubborn Kenya Shujaa 14-7 and denied Australia 19-14. South Africa who made a few changes to their line up answered the massive support by the home crowd to deny Argentina a place in the last four.

Kenya 19 Australia 12

Australia appeared to repeat a back-to-back win over Kenya when James Turner scored the first try which Hayden Sargeant converted for a 7-0 lead. Sergeant added the second one minute layer for a 12-0 lead.

That was as far as they went because Kevin Wekesa started the comeback with a try after George Ooro took three Australian players with him before being stopped short of the line. The ball was quickly recycled to the left and a looping pass by Samuel Asati saw Wekesa dot down. Nygel Amaitsa converted to narrow the gap 7-12 in Australia’s favor.  

Shujaa were awarded a penalty try in the 12th minute when Aden Ekanayake stopped a possible try by Dennis Abukuse. With the scores reading 14-12 in Kenya’s favor, Ooro led from the front to score a decisive try that stretched the lead to 19-12. 

Crucial turnover

The Australians fought back and were awarded a penalty deep in their half but it was Abukuse who won a turnover with the clock in the red to ensure Kenya repaid Australia for a loss in Dubai.

Despite a stellar effort against Spain, Shujaa were unable to stop their opponents from scoring two converted tries by Francisco Cosculluela and Jeremy Trevithick. Patrick Odongo scored the consolation try for Kenya which Amaitsa converted.

Kenya’s progression to the fifth place play-off is crucial for their consistency where they must aim to play among the top eight win each tournament to have a realistic chance of retaining their core team status.

World Rugby Sevens World Series Cape Town, day two fixtures

Women

Cup semi-finals: New Zealand v France, USA v Australia.

Fifth place semi-final: Japan v Ireland, Canada v Great Britain.

Ninth place semi-final:China v Spain, Brazil v Fiji.

Men

Day two fixtures

Cup semi-finals: Spain v South Africa, France v Fiji.

Fifth place semi-final: Kenya v Argentina, Great Britain v New Zealand.

Ninth place semi-final: Australia v Ireland, Uruguay v USA.

World Rugby Sevens World Series Cape Town day one pool results

Women:

Pool A: Australia, Canada, Brazil

Canada 43 Brazil 17, Australia 45 Brazil 5, Australia 26 Canada 10.

Pool B: New Zealand, Japan, China

Japan 14 China 7, New Zealand 40 China 10, New Zealand 22 Japan 12.

Pool C: France, Ireland, Spain

Ireland 34 Spain 5, France 21 Spain 0, France 15 Ireland 0.

Pool D: Great Britain, USA, Fiji

USA 31 Fiji 0, Great Britain 22 Fiji 5, Great Britain 14 USA 31.

Men:

Pool A: Fiji, Great Britain, Uruguay

Great Britain 33 Uruguay 15, Fiji 70 Uruguay 7, Fiji 17 Great Britain 12.

Pool B: Spain, Australia, Kenya

Australia 12 Kenya 19, Spain 14 Kenya 7, Spain 19 Australia 14.

Pool C: Argentina, South Africa, Ireland

South Africa 36 Ireland 7, Argentina 29 Ireland 7, Argentina 5 South Africa 29.

Pool D: New Zealand, France, USA

France 50 USA 12, New Zealand 19 USA 17, New Zealand 15 France 47.