Kenya 7s focus on Games
Samuel Oliech of Kenya pushes Matai Leuta of the United States away during the Canada Sevens, the Sixth round of the HSBC Sevens World Series at the BC Place stadium Centre on March 11, 2018 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. PHOTO | BEN NELMS | GETTY IMAGES | AFP
What you need to know:
- Kenya Sevens rugby team is keen to carry its good form to 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, after claiming silver in Canada Sevens tournament that ended Monday morning at BC Place in Vancouver.
- Kenya Sevens performed well in Canada, reaching their first main Cup final in two years before gallantly going down to Fiji 31-12 a thrilling encounter. The victory saw Kenya collect 19 points, taking the team’s tally to 64 points though the team remains eighth in World Rugby Sevens Series rankings.
Kenya Sevens rugby team is keen to carry its good form to 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, after claiming silver in Canada Sevens tournament that ended Monday morning at BC Place in Vancouver.
Kenya Sevens performed well in Canada, reaching their first main Cup final in two years before gallantly going down to Fiji 31-12 a thrilling encounter. The victory saw Kenya collect 19 points, taking the team’s tally to 64 points though the team remains eighth in World Rugby Sevens Series rankings.
Tries from William Ambaka and Samuel Oliech might have failed to spur Kenya to the a second Cup victory in the series, but by reaching the final, the team exceeded expectations. Kenya and Fiji were meeting for the second time in the final, but it was their 37th meeting in the series.
Olympic champions Fiji extended their dominance over Kenya with a 34th win over coach Innocent Simiyu’s team, becoming the only team to win two events this season after the sixth leg.
Fiji won the fourth leg of the series (New Zealand Sevens) after beating Dubai Sevens champions South Africa 24-17 in the final. Before Vancouver, Fiji and Kenya had met last in main Cup final in Singapore Sevens in 2016 where Kenya made history, winning a maiden Cup title in the series by 30-7 scoreline.
On Monday, Fiji, who had earlier lost to Kenya 24-21 in the pool stages of Canada Sevens, triumphed. Series leaders South Africa beat USA Sevens champions United States 29-7 in the play-off to claim bronze in Vancouver.
That splendid show in Vancouver saw Kenya pile pressure on seventh-placed England, who now have 70 points. England, whom Kenya shocked in the Cup quarterfinal 12-0, collected 13 points after they beat Australia 31-14 in the final for the fifth place.
Fiji’s victory handed them 22 points to see them topple South Africa Sevens champions New Zealand from the second place with 101 points.
New Zealand, who lost in the semi-final match for fifth place, took 10 points in Canada to slump to third with 92 points. South Africa stayed at the top with an improved tally of 109 points.
“Silver medal it is and 29 points on the road from USA and Vancouver.
Thanks for your effort boys,” said Kenya Sevens strength and conditioning coach Geoffrey Kimani, who has been hailed for taking the team through a good pre-season preparations.
“Vancouver you are a beauty! We now reset, recover and eye repeat show,” said Kimani on his Facebook page.The team returns at 9.40pm today and head to camp to prepare for Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, where they face New Zealand, Canada and Zambia in Pool “C”.
