Kenya seek season solace
What you need to know:
- Series leaders Fiji will be looking to win their first overall title since 2006 put face stiff challenge from second-placed South Africa and perennial winners New Zealand, who lie in third spot.
- Kenya goes into the final leg of the 2014/2015 Series in London lying 13th with 38 points, having collected only five points from the previous event in Glasgow last weekend. It will be a tall order for Kenya to climb up the standing since 12th-placed Canada are on 50 points.
- Last year, Kenya reached the Plate final in London before going down to South Africa 14-38. They had beaten USA 25-5, drew Canada 17-17 but advanced to the Cup quarters despite losing to Samoa 12-19.
Kenya Sevens take on Scotland on Saturday hoping to put behind a lacklustre season and sign off in style in the last leg of the World Sevens Series in London.
The Pool C battle at Twickenham Stadium with the Scots whom they met last at Wellington Sevens in February, gets underway at 1.12pm.
They will then face hosts England at 4.40pm before wrapping up their pool assignments against the 2016 Olympic Games hosts Brazil at 7.24pm.
Series leaders Fiji will be looking to win their first overall title since 2006 put face stiff challenge from second-placed South Africa and perennial winners New Zealand, who lie in third spot.
Kenya goes into the final leg of the 2014/2015 Series in London lying 13th with 38 points, having collected only five points from the previous event in Glasgow last weekend. It will be a tall order for Kenya to climb up the standing since 12th-placed Canada are on 50 points.
The going has been tough for Kenya since the start of the season where senior players boycotted training before Safari Sevens in September last year over disputed contracts.
South African Paul Treu, then head coach, would throw in the towel after the first three legs in Gold Coast, Dubai and South Africa, having served only a few series.
Kenya has only reached one main Cup quarter-final this season at the Wellingtons Sevens in February where they beat Scotland and Samoa 19-17 and 28-14 respectively in the pool stages.
They lost to South Africa 5-12 in the Cup quarter-finals before bowing out in Plate semis to Australia 5-21.
It has been a tale of Bowl performances in South Africa, USA and Glasgow and Shield shows in Gold Coast, Dubai, Hong Kong and Tokyo.
Kenya lost to Canada 5-24 in Bowl final in South Africa, battled to a 24-21 Bowl victory against Argentina in USA before losing to the same Pumas in Bowl semi-final 7-24 in Glasgow.
Last year, Kenya reached the Plate final in London before going down to South Africa 14-38. They had beaten USA 25-5, drew Canada 17-17 but advanced to the Cup quarters despite losing to Samoa 12-19. They failed to go past New Zealand, losing 5-12 in the Cup quarters but edged out France 28-19 in Plate semis.
Kenya and England have met thrice this season but the east Africans have failed to turn the tables on the English losing in the Dubai preliminaries 0-38, 14-21 in USA and 7-17 in Hong Kong. Kenya last beat England in the Las Vegas leg of 2009/2010 Series.
Humphrey Kayange, Collin Injera, Gibson Weru and Ben Nyambu touched down as Biko Adema converted thrice for the victory. Kayange, Injera and Adema will once again be facing the hosts today.
Fija, South Africa and New Zealand have already secured a major prize in that they’ve automatically qualified for next year’s Olympics in Rio, where rugby sevens will make its Games debut.
