- An undercooked Kenya 7s side will rue their unforced errors in the Valladolid 7s after suffering a second defeat of the day against South Africa.
- Shujaa looked depleted on Friday, May 29, as they fell 14-0 at the Estadio Jose Zorrilla in Spain.
- They opened the tournament with a 15-10 loss to Australia and must now beat Great Britain on Saturday afternoon to keep their quarterfinal hopes alive.
An out-of-sorts Kenya 7s side will regret their unforced mistakes in the Valladolid 7s after picking up their second loss of the day on Friday, falling 14-0 to African counterparts South Africa at the Estadio Jose Zorrilla in Spain.
Shujaa needed a win in this match to bounce back from their opening defeat of the day, where they suffered a painful 15-10 extra-time loss to Australia.
However, things did not go as planned in the second outing as they came up against the championship leaders, who remained solid in defence while Kevin Wambua’s men struggled with errors and sluggish decision-making.
ALSO READ: Kenya 7s fall to Australia in extra-time heartbreak at Valladolid 7s opener
Shujaa will rue the mistakes made in both matches, especially in the second clash where they conceded the opening try after a misplaced pass gifted the Springboks possession. South Africa capitalized immediately, taking a 7-0 lead through Shilton van Wyk’s try between the posts before Tristan Leyds added the extras.
Despite dominating large spells of the game, Shujaa were wasteful with their chances due to unforced errors and delayed execution, allowing South Africa to head into the break with a narrow 7-0 advantage.
In the second half, things went from bad to worse.
With just two minutes to play, and after bossing possession but failing to breach the Boks’ defence, they were reduced to six men on the field after Dennis Abukuse was shown a yellow card.
Moments later, they were punished when South Africa found a gap on the left wing, allowing Sebastiaan Jobb to give them a 14-0 lead after a successful conversion, handing South Africa their second win of the day.
Shujaa are now staring into the abyss of not replicating their Hong Kong performance, where they advanced to the quarterfinals.
Now they face an uphill task to beat Great Britain on Saturday afternoon in the third match of this Pool A.
Great Britain has already secured two bonus points, while Kenya has only one. Now Shujaa will have to beat them and prevent them from getting the bonus point to keep their hopes alive as the best runners-up to reach the quarterfinals. If they fail, they will be consigned to the ninth-place playoffs.
This round is the penultimate round of the World Championship, which is the ultimate pathway to the HSBC SVNS 1 next season. Only the top eight teams will go through, and Shujaa must finish in the top eight if they want to qualify.
Kenya 7s Valladolid 7s fixtures, play times, and schedule
Friday May 29
Shujaa 10-15 Australia
Shujaa 0-14 South Africa
Saturday May 30
Shujaa vs Great Britain – 2:02pm
