Nigel Amaitsa and Patrick Odongo each scored a brace as Kenya defied all odds to convincingly beat Great Britain 32-17 to finish seventh in the Cape Town Sevens tournament which is the second of the World Rugby Sevens World Series.

The win put a shine back on the Shujaa side that lost 14-26 to Argentina in the fifth place play-off earlier in the day. 

George Ooro led from the front and put the marker with a try in the first minute. Nygel Amaitsa knocked over the conversion for a 7-0 lead. The bright start only fired up Shujaa who engaged the next gear with Patrick Odongo racing clear after receiving a well-weighted pass from Amaitsa.

With a 12-0 lead, Odongo completed his brace this time from a Samuel Asati delivery to stretch the lead 17-0. Great Britain were shell-shocked as Asati dived over from a quickly taken penalty. Although Sunni Jardine pulled one back for Great Britain, Kenya led 22-5 at the break.

Flicker of hope

Great Britain regrouped and Matt Davidson put a flicker of hope with the first try in the second half after slicing through the Kenya defense. He converted to narrow the gap 22-12 in Kenya’s favor.

Amaitsa, undoubtedly the man of the match, replied immediately when he spotted no cover in the Great Britain ranks, chipped over with his left foot, recollected and dotted down for Kenya to lead 27-12. Great Britain replied with a try by Luke Mehson to bring the match within reach but it was Amaitsa who had the last laugh scoring his second try for a 32-17 result.

The win saw Kenya finish seventh and collect eight precious points.