Only a podium finish in the remaining two World Rugby Sevens World Series tournaments in Hong Kong and Singapore would enhance Kenya’s chances of avoiding a gritty play-off in Los Angeles on May 3 and 4, 2025.

The reality check comes after a winless scorecard from Vancouver Sevens where a deflated Shujaa huffed and puffed without replicating the form that has seen them knock on the doors finishing among the top eight teams.

Also, the bottom finish in Vancouver did not help in getting a favorable draw for the next tournament where Shujaa will face the same adversaries with the only change being the red-hot Spain who replaced Argentina, the top seeds in Hong Kong.

Tough return

Returning to the series after one year out was always going to be tough which is why Shujaa must go with all their guns blazing in Hong Kong. There were high hopes that Shujaa could replicate their best performance in Cape Town and turn the narrow results in Perth to wins. 

But the marker came in the opening match where for the first time, Kenya failed to score any points in their first Pool A match against Argentina, the eventual champions in Vancouver. The second match was a near repeat of the first with France winning 33-7. An expected revival against a rejuvenated Great Britain came to nothing as Shujaa were tamed 28-10 by a team they comfortably beat in Cape Town, South Africa. 

Narrow loss

Uruguay who were promoted with Kenya narrowly won 19-14 in the ninth place play-off and Ireland completed the rout with a similar result in the wooden spoon battle at the bottom. Talks of breaking into the top eight which has been on the management of Kenya’s team since reclaiming their spot as a core team fizzled out. An audit of Vancouver may not be revealed to the media but it would be a monumental task for Shujaa to climb out of a deep hole they have dug. 

In the gloom and doom, Jone Kubu who broke into the Shujaa ranks for the first time provided flashes of his potential. The Kabras Sugar stalwart often broke lines and excited with his deceptive running silencing critics who had doubted his inclusion in the team.

Hong Kong Sevens

Shujaa’s attention is now in Hong Kong, a different ground but the same adversaries. In Hong Kong, Kenya will renew their rivalry with Great Britain and France who are safely tucked in the top eight. The line up is completed by the form team, Spain who have defied all odds and are placed second in the overall standings.

The arithmetic is simple, Kenya Pool C match to progress to the cup quarter final and eventually the cup semis in Hong Kong. Again, in Singapore, Kenya must again repeat the feat if they have any realistic chance of surviving the play-off in Los Angeles in May.

Indeed, Uruguay, who were promoted with Kenya, demonstrated that a win against the top sides is possible when they beat New Zealand and Fiji in Perth. Does Kenya have the players?

Vancouver debacle

The debacle by Shujaa in Vancouver did not rob the tournament of its glitter. In the men’s competition, Spain provided the excitement on their way to the final while Argentina could have been playing at home. The Pumas won their fourth Vancouver Sevens which was celebrating its 10th year. 

There were some great rivalries too in the men’s category where Australia and New Zealand faced off. The cup quarter finals saw Spain beat New Zealand for the third time this season while South Africa edged out Australia in the quarters. Spain beat Fiji for the second time this season and clinched the bronze.

Japan and Fiji

In the women’s category, Japan, Fiji and Brazil provided the highlights. Individually, New Zealand’s Michaela Brake, in the absence of Maddison Levi (Australia) surpassed Portia Woodman as the top try scorer that culminated in their winning in Vancouver. Fiji’s Fijiana defied all odds to reach the final despite losing their opening match against Japan and Great Britain at the pool stage.   

Fijiana blanked Brazil 46-0 in the cup quarter final, returned the favor against Japan in the semis before being deflated by New Zealand in the final. Brazil reached the cup quarters by upsetting Australia and narrowly beating Spain in their pool matches. 

They ran out of steam against Fiji in the quarters before claiming another major scalp by edging out Great Britain in the fifth place play-off.

Highest finish

But, the accolades belonged to Japan who surged to their highest finish when they narrowly beat the USA 22-17 to storm into the cup semi finals. Although they lost to Fiji and put up a big fight against Australia in the play off, Japan had already made history. The performance saw them climb to fifth place overall with 44 points ahead of Canada on 40. 

Attention now switches to the next two tournaments in Hong Kong and Singapore where the circuit will come to an end before the top eight teams in each category proceed to Los Angeles for the grand finale. The bottom four teams will also battle it out with the top four teams from the Challenger Series in the promotion/relegation battle

Hong Kong Sevens draw, March 28-30, 2025.

Pool A: Argentina, Fiji, USA, Ireland

Pool B: South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Uruguay

Pool C: Spain, Great Britain, France, Kenya.

Vancouver Sevens results

Pool A: Argentina, France Great Britain, Kenya.

Great Britain 26 France 7, Argentina 24 Kenya 0, Kenya 7 France 33, Great Britain 14 Argentina 19, Kenya 10 Great Britain 28, France 5 Argentina 12.

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

New Zealand 10 South Africa 12, Ireland 7 Australia 17, Ireland 7 South Africa 28, New Zealand 17 Australia 7, Ireland 21 New Zealand 31, South Africa 12 Australia 17.

Pool C: Fiji, Spain, Uruguay, USA.

Uruguay 12 Fiji 38, USA 12 Spain 14, USA 10 Fiji 33, Uruguay 12 Spain 38, USA 7 Uruguay 10, Fiji 26 Spain 21.   

Cup quarter final: New Zealand 7 Spain 12, Argentina 12 France 7, Fiji 24 Great Britain 0, South Africa 17 Australia 14; Semi-finals: Spain 0 Argentina 7, Fiji 10 South Africa 12; Third place play-off: Spain 22 Fiji 7; Final: Argentina 19 South Africa 12.

Fifth place play-off: Great Britain 31 New Zealand 10.

Seventh place play-off: Australia 15 France 12

Ninth place semi-final: USA 21 Ireland 0, Uruguay 19 Kenya 14; Play-off: USA 22 Uruguay 21.

Eleventh place play-off: Ireland 19 Kenya 14. 

Overall standings after Vancouver: 1. Argentina 68, 2. Spain 64, 3. Fiji 62, 4. South Africa 62, 5. France 46, 6. Australia 38, 7. New Zealand 38, 8. Great Britain 32, 9. Kenya 15, 10. Uruguay 15, 11. USA 9, 12. Ireland 7.

Women

Pool A: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Spain

Canada 26 Brazil 19, Australia 42 Spain 0, Brazil 19 Spain 17, Australia 35 Canada 14, Canada 41 Spain 5, Australia 12 Brazil 14.

Pool B: China, Ireland. New Zealand, USA.

USA 21 China 10, New Zealand 58 Ireland 7, USA 31 Ireland 17, New Zealand 38 China 7, China 29 Ireland 0, New Zealand 37 USA 0.

Pool C: Fiji, France, Great Britain, Japan.

Japan 19 Fiji 14, France 10 Great Britain 17, Japan 19 Great Britain 14, France 12 Fiji 24,  

Fiji 21 Great Britain 24, France 31 Japan 12. 

Cup quarter finals: USA 17 Japan 22, Brazil 0 Fiji 46, Great Britain 14 Australia 28, New Zealand 34 Canada 12; Semi-finals: Japan 7 Fiji 28, Australia 10 New Zealand 29; Third place play-off: Japan 12 Australia 26; Final: Fiji 7 New Zealand 41.

Fifth place play-off: Great Britain 10 Brazil 19.

Seventh place play-off: Canada 27 USA 10

Ninth place semi-final: China 15 Ireland 7, France 19 Spain 12; Play-off: France 26 China 12.

Eleventh place play-off: Spain 28 Ireland 5.

Overall ranking: 1. New Zealand 76, 2. Australia 70, 3. France 52, 4. USA 46, 5. Japan 44, 6. Canada 40, 7. Great Britain 35, 8 Fiji 26, 9. Brazil 26, 10. Ireland 18, 11. China 16, 12. Spain 7.

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.