Three countries, Argentina (women), the USA and Germany have qualified for the World Rugby 7s championships to be played over three legs in Hong Kong, France and Spain.

Also through to the championship are the South Africa women’s team following the completion of the second tournament of World Rugby Sevens Tier 2 tournament in Montevideo, Uruguay. Whether the qualification will dilute the remaining tournament in Sao Paulo, Brazil this weekend is unclear.

This is because the chasing pack are eyeing the remaining positions while those already qualified could briefly ease their feet off the gas pedal and reestrategize for the championship. As a result, the various technical benches may give fringe players a chance top put up their hand for selection. 

Slightly Weakened

By doing this, teams gunning for the remaining places may be slightly weakened making it easier for the qualifiers. Kenya’s Shujaa is in this mix after finishing third in the opening two tournaments with Uruguay and Canada also exerting pressure.

In Montevideo, Shujaa lost to the USA and Germany but narrowly beat hosts Uruguay on the second day. The hindsight is the margin of their wins against the remaining teams because in the event of accumulating the same points after Sao Paulo, Shujaa could painfully fail to advance to the championships because of inferior points aggregate.

Therefore, the assignment in Sao Paulo is clear. Shujaa must win all their matches to qualify. Depending on the results posted by other teams for their qualification is not an option.

Major Blow

The same cannot be said about Kenya Lionesses whose chances of advancing to the championship took a major blow after winning only one match against the two-time champions Argentina. In Sao Paulo, the going will be tougher after the team dropped from fifth to the last spot.

Kenya Lionesses suffered a humiliating 27-0 loss to continental rivals South Africa, a team they beat three times last year, twice in South Africa and once in Los Angeles. Since May 2025 when Kenya Lionesses were on the verge of qualifying to the top tier, there has been a downward slide as a result of a myriad of issues.

The completion of the Tier 2 competition will culminate in the championship to be played over three venues. Already, the Tier 1 competition has ended with South Africa winning the men’s league and New Zealand clinching the women’s title.

Collated results from Montevideo

Women: China 19 Kenya 5, South Africa 14 Spain 15, Argentina 12 Brazil 7, South Africa 38 China 0, Spain 10 Brazil 15, Argentina 12 Kenya 10, South Africa 26 Brazil 0, Spain 19 Kenya 14, Argentina 22 China 17, China 22 Brazil 15, South Africa 27 Kenya 0, Argentina 14 Spain 12, Kenya 12 Brazil 19. Spain 19 China 12, Argentina 22 South Africa 10.  

Standing: Argentina 40, South Africa 34, Spain 34, China 28, Brazil 22, Kenya 22.

Men: Uruguay 26 Belgium 7, USA 14 Kenya 10, Germany 21 Canada 14, USA 29 Uruguay 14, Kenya 19 Canada 5, Germany 31 Belgium 5, USA 22 Canada 14, Kenya 20 Belgium 0, Germany 31 Uruguay 26, USA 17 Belgium 5, Uruguay 33 Canada 0, Germany 12 Kenya 7, Belgium 14 Canada 41, Germany 5 USA 29, Kenya 22 Uruguay 14. Standing: USA 38, Germany 38, Kenya 32, Uruguay 28, Canada 22, Belgium 22.