The draw does not get easier for Kenya’s Shujaa as teams prepare for the fourth leg of the World Rugby Sevens World Series at the BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, Canada from February 21-23. 

Kenya has been drawn in Pool A with Argentina (winners in Perth), France and Great Britain. They begin their three-day assignments with a match against Argentina before facing France on the opening day. On Saturday, Shujaa play their last pool fixture against Great Britain. 

Already, Shujaa has met all the teams they have been pooled with in previous tournaments losing 19-24 to France in Dubai at the pool stage, Argentina 14-26 in the fifth place play-off in Cape Town, South Africa and convincingly beating Great Britain 32-17 in the seventh place play-off in Cape Town. 

Ability of the young squad

Speaking in Perth after the opening two days, Kevin Wambua the head coach was disappointed with the teams’ drop to the lower tier. He noted the ability of the young squad to score against most of the established sides despite lacking the finishing power especially against New Zealand and Fiji who they led at one time. “We are on the right path and our systems are working so we will continue to trust the process,” Wambua said in an interview with KRU Website. 

Some of the areas the technical team are keen to improve on are set pieces and game management as well as tightening the defense “make sure we are more connected and have that inside/outside cover, work hard on and off the ball and make better decisions around the breakdown area,” he added. Overall, he is convinced the team is on the right path.

Significant shift

Being on the right path requires a significant shift in the remaining three legs starting with Vancouver. Aftter three tournaments, Shujaa need an upward trajectory and must finish in the top eight in each tournament to have a realistic chance of surviving what has become a brutal Series with no underdogs.

This is demonstrated by three winners so far  (Fiji in Dubai, South Africa in Cape Town and Argentina in Perth) and different results from various teams in each tournament. Currently, Kenya is placed ninth with 14 points while Great Britain is eighth with 20 points.

Kenyas performance in the last three tournaments

Dubai: France 24 Kenya 19, South Africa 17 Kenya 22, Australia 31 Kenya 14; Ninth Place semi final: Kenya 21 Ireland 7; Final: Uruguay 15 Kenya 7.

Cape Town: Australia 12 Kenya 19, Spain 14 Kenya 7; Fifth Place semi-final: Kenya 14 Argentina 26; Seventh Place play-off: Kenya 32 Great Britain 17.

Perth: New Zealand 29 Kenya 14, Fiji 21 Kenya 14, Kenya 19 Uruguay 5; Ninth Place semi-final: USA 21 Kenya 26; Final: Kenya 12 New Zealand 19.

Vancouver Sevens Draw 

February 21-23 at the BC Place

Pool A: Argentina, France, Great Britain, Kenya.

Pool B: Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Ireland.

Pool C: Spain, Fiji, Uruguay, USA.

Friday, February 21

Uruguay v Fiji, USA v Spain, New Zealand v Soutth Africa, Ireland v Australia, Great Britain v France, Kenya v Argentina, USA v Fiji, Uruguay v Spain, Ireland v South Africa, New Zealand v Australia, Kenya v France, Great Britain v Argentina

Saturday, February 22.

USA v Uruguay, Fiji v Spain, Ireland v New Zealand, South Africa v Australia, Kenya v Great Britain, France v Argentina. 

Overall standing: 1. Fiji 48, 2. Argentina 48, 3. Spain 48, 4. South Africa 44, 5. France 40, 6. Australia 30, 7. New Zealand 28, 8. Great Britain 20, 9. Kenya 14, 10. Uruguay 12, 11. USA 5, 12. Ireland 5. 

2024/2025 World Rugby Sevens World Series venues and dates

Dubai: November 30- December 1, 2024.

Cape Town: December 7-8, 2024.

Perth: January 24-26, 2025.

Vancouver: February 21-23, 2025.

Hong Kong: March 28-30, 2025.

Singapore: April 5-6, 2025.

Los Angeles: May 3-4, 2025.