The three African teams at the World Rugby Sevens Tier 2 competition had mixed results after the opening day of the tournament which is being played under a new format in its first season after World Rugby restructured the shorter version of the game.

Hosts Kenya who are represented by two teams and South Africa recorded wins and narrow losses. The men’s team, Shujaa finished on a clean sheet winning all their opening three matches against Canada, Belgium and Germany.

Lionesses, the women’s team narrowly beat Brazil before conceding narrow losses to South Africa and China while South Africa women’s team narrowly beat Spain in their opening match before losing to Brazil and bouncing back to edge out Kenya.

Lionesses Stalk Argentina

The hunt for a top spot gets harder on the second day when the Lionesses stalk a formidable Argentina and Spain while Shujaa have an uphill task against Uruguay and USA. South Africa women’s team brace for a tough battle against China and Argentina.

All eyes will be on Shujaa and the USA who were unbeaten on Saturday who meet in the final match before the next two tournaments in Uruguay and Brazil. USA who have a backroom of 12 officials were impressive under their new coach Zack Test.

They blanked Belgium 40-0 and squeezed a 17-14 win over Uruguay and overran Canada 41-7 in a North American derby. Uruguay narrowly lost to Germany and the USA before bouncing back to beat Belgium. 

Consistent Performance

After the opening day, Kevin Wambua, the Shujaa head coach as well as the technical bench stated their aim was to do better on the second day. The focus remains winning the remaining fixtures and maintaining a consistent performance to ensure they qualify for the championships. “I am happy with the performance because our approach is to play each game as a final,” he said in a press interview.

Wambua added that winning the home tournament will be massive and a good start to repay the support of the home fans. “It will be a big motivation ahead of the remaining two legs. By the time we go for the next legs, we should target maximum points at home,” the coach stated.

Home Fans

The same sentiments were expressed by George Ooro, the captain and Kevin Wekesa. Ooro acknowledged they lived off the energy of the home fans. He remembered playing against Germany, Uruguay and USA in Madrid, Spain in 2025 when the teams battled for promotion to the top tier.  

“It is a good feeling to play before our fans at home. It inspires us to work harder for the love they give to the team. Uruguay, Germany and the USA are always tough opponents and we have to dig deep to win every match,” he admitted. Wekesa added, “pressure makes diamond,” in reference to how they will approach the remaining two matches against Uruguay and USA. “We are aiming for the top spot,” he stated.

From the stands, Collins Injera admitted it was a fulfilling experience to watch a version of the World Rugby Sevens tournament at home. “It is different and feels good,” Injera added. The former player tipped Patrick Odongo – who wears the number 11 jersey which he also wore – to become a formidable player.

Kenya Lionesses came to terms with competition at a different level by facing different opponents. Their narrow wins and losses are crucial to maintaining consistency and keeping in touch with China and Argentina who had a good day. The remaining two matches against Argentina and Spain will be tougher.

Selected Results

South Africa 14 Spain 12

Paula Raquena scored for Spain in the sixth minute and Silvia Morales and Carmen Miranda converted for a 7-0 lead. Nadine Roos replied with a converted try in the eighth minute to level the scores.

Silvia Morales broke the deadlock with an unconverted try in the 10th minute before Liske Letegan scored the winning try converted by Roos.

Kenya 15 Brazil 12 

Brazil were quick off the starting block when Thaila Costa touched down in the sixth minute and Maysa Fernandes converted for a 7-0 lead. Bianca Silva stretched the lead to 12-0 with an unconverted try. 

Stella Wafula replied with an unconverted try in the eighth minute and Janet Okello added the second one minute later for Brazil to lead 12-10. Naomi Amuguni scored the winning try in the 12th minute.

Kenya 29 Canada 12

Shujaa opened their account with a dominant performance against Canada. Patrick Odongo scored a try in the third and seventh minutes. Chrisant Ojwang’ (sixth minute), Nygel Amaitsa (13th), and Festus Shiasi added two more tries.

Amaitsa kicked over two conversions. Canada replied with a try by Morgan Di Nardo in the eighth minute and Kalin Sager one minute later, Lachlan Kratz kicked over one conversion.

Brazil 12 South Africa 0

Gabriela Lima and Thaila Costa scored one try in each half as Brazil stunned South Africa 12-0. Fernandes converted Lima’s try.

Kenya 12 China 15

A determined rally by Kenya from 0-15 down was not enough as China narrowly won 15-12. Le Zhang opened the scoring in the first minute and three minutes later Sun Yue added the second. When Ge Chenjie scored the third try in the seventh minute, the die appeared cast for Kenya Lionesses.

They did not concede in the second half but a late rally saw Fresha Oduor and Grace Okulu touch down once each in the 13th and 15th minutes. Okulu converted her try.

Kenya 33 Belgium 0

Shujaa kept a clean sheet against Belgium. It took only two minutes before nippy scrum half Samuel Asati crossed the line. Ojwang’ scored the second try in the fourth minute before Kevin Wekesa and Odongo touched down in the seventh and eighth minutes.

Floyd Wabwire crowned the flawless performance with a try in the 14th minute which was converted by debutant David Nyangige. Amaitsa also slotted three conversions.

Kenya 10 South Africa 12

The continental derby between Kenya and South Africa got off to a cracking start with Shiniqwa Lampretch scoring the opener in the second minute. Roos converted for a 7-0 lead. Barely one minute later, Sheila Chajira, the Kenya Lionesses captain barged over.

Maria Tshiremba stretched South Africa’s lead with an unconverted try in the sixth minute. A late rally by Kenya was rewarded with an unconverted try by Moreen Muritu in the 14th minute.

Kenya 15 Germany 10

Germany stunned Kenya with Ben Ellermann in the third minute. Before Shujaa could gain their poise, Felix Hufnagel added the second three minutes later.

It took a lot of composure for the hosts to claw back in the second half with a  comeback try by Amaitsa in the eighth minute. Odongo added the second in the ninth minute to level the scores before Festus Shiasi scored the winner deep in the second half.

Summarized Results, February 14, 2026

Women: China 10 Argentina 20, Spain 12 South Africa 14, Brazil 12 Kenya 15, Spain 17 Argentina 19, Brazil 12 South Africa 0, China 15 Kenya 12, Brazil 17 Argentina 28, China 0 Spain 21, Kenya 10 South Africa 12.

Sunday, February 15, 2026 Fixtures: China v South Africa, Brazil v Spain, Kenya v Argentina, South Africa v Argentina, Brazil v China, Spain v Kenya. 

Men: USA 40 Belgium 0, Uruguay 14 Germany 19, Kenya 29 Canada 12, Uruguay 14 USA 17, Germany 26 Canada 17, Kenya 33 Belgium 0, USA 41 Canada 7, Uruguay 38 Belgium 14, Kenya 15 Germany 10.

Sunday, February 15, 2026 Fixtures: Canada v Belgium, USA v Germany, Kenya v Uruguay, Germany v Belgium, Uruguay v Canada, Kenya v USA.