What was supposed to be a coronation of Kenya’s national-seven-a-side rugby team, Shujaa in their bid to return to World Rugby Seven’s top tier competition ended in non-qualification and a second season in the lower division tier competition.

In the three-leg championship stage, Shujaa was twice placed in the same pool as South Africa – winners of the league and championship – Australia, and Great Britain. Fiji came into the mix at the final hurdle in France.

Finals rugby has its own ups and downs and each result matters. The pressure is real and lessons learned by Shujaa during the three legs was that they were responsible for controlling the results and their destiny. In Bordeaux, the arithmetic came into play but the bounce of the ball did not favor Shujaa. 

Tough Pool

Emerging from a tough pool and qualifying for the quarter finals meant winning at least one match and depending on the results of the other Pool matches. The script was re-written severally over the three days especially after Great Britain edged out South Africa 19-14 in the first match. 

A second defeat at the pool stage by Fiji threw the pool wide. This was not helped by Kenya’s 5-14 loss to Great Britain in their final pool match. It was Great Britain who denied Kenya a chance of advancing to the top tier last season.

The pool results saw Shujaa’s qualification pegged on other results especially of the USA who came to the party more determined than ever and won all their pool matches to advance to the cup quarter finals. Their progression to the semi-finals could have ended Shujaa’s hopes but Spain came to the rescue by winning the tie. 

Shujaa Relegation

From here, Shujaa’s task was to win their ninth place play-off against Germany to keep their hopes alive. They lost 5-7 to Germany and the USA rallied from 14 points down to beat Fiji 17-14, a match that relegated Shujaa. 

South Africa narrowly defeated Fiji 14-12 in the cup quarter final, a result that handed them the championship and an automatic Olympic qualification as one of the top four teams in the competition. The silver lining here is that the direct qualification opens a chance for another African team at the next Olympics. Therefore, Shujaa should push for this slot by winning the Africa 7’s.

Last year, Shujaa came very close to joining the top tier. It is the same feeling after the debacle in Bordeaux. Despite the disappointment, a lot of the players are hurting and have resolved to bounce back. 

Coach Kevin Wambua briefly met Kenya’s ardent fans who brought back the vibe in the championship by filling up the now famous “Kenya Corner” at every venue. He acknowledged the disappointments but promised the team would bounce back. “Thank you for all your support. I know we are all down today but we will bounce back and bigger next season. Keep the faith,” he promised.

Heartfelt Messages 

Two players, Patrick Odongo and Vincent Onyala took to their social media handles and courageously posted heartfelt messages that captured the mood of the players.

Patrick Odongo posted: Bordeaux Sevens didn’t end the way we had hoped. Missing out qualification for Sevens 1 hurts deeply – not just for us players, but for every Kenyan fan who believed in and supported us throughout the journey. We gave everything we had, but sometimes sport doesn’t reward effort the way you want it to. Thank you to everyone who stood with us through the highs and lows. We share this disappointment with you, and we’ll use it as a motivation to come back stronger.

Vincent Onyala wrote: To our Nation, Union Management, Technical team, Team mates, Our Families, Our Friends and our incredible fans, our heartbeat – It has been a journey at the HSBC SVNS Championship, we gave everything we had. Unfortunately, we fell short of claiming our core team status for the 2026/2027 season. The pain – missing out on the world’s  biggest stage – weighs heavy on all of us. But what gives us strength is YOU.

You showed up, painted our colors, voices hoarse from Kenya Corner. Your support from Hong Kong, Valladolid and to Bordeaux – it didn’t go unnoticed. Thank you for believing in us when it’s hardest to believe.

No Statement

Contrary to the feelings of the team, technical bench, and the fans, Kenya Rugby Union officials did not issue a statement. Nine directors were in Bordeaux expecting to join in the celebrations if Shujaa qualified for the top tier. 

The number does not include officials from the sports ministry who joy ride on the fame of the team with an intention of lining their pockets with healthy per-diems and luxury travel. Some of these expenses could have gone into motivating the players.

By contrast, while nine KRU directors traveled to Bordeaux, the USA had a backroom staff of 12 which included personnel with special roles. They worked behind the scenes to keep pushing the team even when there appeared to be no light at the end of the tunnel. In the end, their resilience and belief produced the ‘final’ performance that erased their results of the first two legs to overtake Kenya and qualify. 

Hard Lessons

For Shujaa, it is back to the drawing board with hard lessons learned in two seasons. The biggest lesson is to control their destiny and be ruthless and clinical in getting favorable results. Close margin losses are detrimental in the closing stages and nobody remembers the last win. As they regroup, it is important to take a strong team to Mauritius and start the comeback in anticipation of the second division competitions next year.

It is worth noting that the seismic wave that culminated into a decision by World Rugby to create three tiers has been felt far and wide. For example, Great Britain, a domicile of powerful Unions such as Scotland, England, and Wales must now compete in the second tier with Kenya, Uruguay, and Germany. Whether this will materialize is a big question especially after Ireland dropped out of the radar. 

Final Championship Log

Men: South Africa 52, New Zealand 44, Spain 42, Australia 38, Argentina 38,Fiji 36, France 34, USA 17, Kenya 16, Great Britain 10, Germany 8, Uruguay 7.

Women: Australia 58, New Zealand 54, Canada 44, USA 44, France 40, Japan 28, Fiji 26, Spain 18, Brazil 9, Argentina 8, Great Britain 7, South Africa 6.

Bordeaux, France Results

Women

Pool A: New Zealand, France, South Africa, Argentina.

France 22 South Africa 7, New Zealand 49 Argentina 5, New Zealand 42 South Africa 0, France 27 Argentina 10, South Africa 5 Argentina 17, New Zealand 38 France 7.

Pool B: Australia, Japan, Fiji, Brazil.

Japan 12 Fiji 24, Australia 45 Brazil 7, Japan 29 Brazil 14, Australia 19 Fiji 7, Fiji 28 Brazil 24, Australia 35 Japan 7.

Pool C: USA, Canada, Spain, Great Britain.

Canada 14 Spain 12, USA 31 Great Britain 7, Canada 35 Great Britain 14, USA 19 Spain 15, Spain 29 Great Britain 10, USA 33 Canada 22.

Cup Quarter Finals: Fiji 14 Canada 29, New Zealand 35 Japan 22, USA 12 France 0, Australia 14 Spain 0; Semi Finals: Canada 17 New Zealand 19; USA 7 Australia 21; Play Off: Canada 21 USA 19; Final: New Zealand 19 Australia 26.

Fifth Place Play-Off: Fiji 12 France 24.

Seventh Place Play-Off: Spain 7 Japan 19. 

Ninth Place Semi Final: Brazil 7 Great Britain 19; Argentina 22 South Africa 17; Final: Great Britain 19 Argentina 31.

11th Place Play-Off: Brazil 24 South Africa 17.

Men

Pool A: South Africa, Fiji, Kenya, Great Britain.

Fiji 31 Kenya 12, South Africa 14 Great Britain 19, Fiji 26 Great Britain 12, South Africa 26 Kenya 5, Kenya 5 Great Britain 14, South Africa 12 Fiji 15, 

Pool B: Australia, Spain, USA, Uruguay.

Spain 19 USA 24, Australia 43 Uruguay 12, Spain 42 Uruguay 17, Australia 17 USA 19, USA 43 Uruguay 7, Australia 12 Spain 10, 

Pool C: Argentina, New Zealand, France, Germany.

New Zealand 26 France 21, Argentina 35 Germany 19, New Zealand 33 Germany 7, Argentina 14 France 22, Argentina 21 New Zealand 24, France 14 Germany 7.

Cup Quarter Finals: Australia 0 France 26, Fiji 12 South Africa 14, New Zealand 24 Great Britain 5, USA 5 Spain 17; Semi Finals: France 21 South Africa 12 New Zealand 24 Spain 12; Play-Off: South Africa 14 Spain 40; Final: France 14 New Zealand 5.

Fifth Place Play-Off: USA 17 Fiji 14.

Seventh Place Play-Off: Australia 29 Great Britain 0.

Ninth Place Semi Final: Germany 7 Kenya 5, Argentina 26 Uruguay 17; Final: Germany 19 Argentina 47.11th Place Play-Off: Kenya 26 Uruguay 7.