Kenya Sevens look to shine in Vancouver

Kenya Sevens hope to bounce back when they open their Vancouver Sevens quest against World Rugby Sevens Series leaders New Zealand in their Pool “C” duel on Saturday at BC Place in Canada.

Kenya will be eying their first victory against All Blacks since the 2017/2018 Series in the 9.53pm contest. Kenya will then meet Ireland and Spain at 12.53am and 4.07am respectively on Sunday.

It was during the Hong Kong Sevens leg of the 2017/2018 Series where Kenya hit All Blacks 21-12 in the main Cup semi-finals, before losing to Fiji 24-12 in the final.

It was Kenya’s second consecutive final during that season, having lost to Fiji at Vancouver Sevens, their last best show in the Series for the 2016 Singapore Sevens champions.

Kenya and New Zealand will be facing off for the second time this season with the two sides going into the battle with contrasting results. They last met at the preliminary stage in Sydney where the All Blacks reigned 19-5.

All Blacks command a four-point lead at the top of the Series, having won the Cape Town and Hamilton legs of the Series, besides finishing second in Dubai. They finished third in Los Angeles last weekend, with their worst showing coming in Sydney where they came in fifth.

The best show for Kenya was in Cape Town and Hamilton where they reached the Cup quarterfinals. They are now placed 11th with 29 points, having wound up 14th in the last leg in Los Angeles.

Kenya and Ireland will be clashing for the third time this season. They first met at Cape Town Sevens, where they drew 24-24 in the pool stage, but the Kenyans would claim a 29-12 victory at the same stage in Los Angeles.

Kenya and Spain will meet for the second time and Paul Feeney’s charges hope to exact revenge after they lost to the Spaniards 22-19 in the Series opening leg in Dubai.

It seems a relatively easier pool compared to the one in Los Angeles, but it is certainly too hard for the Kenyan lads based on their previous outing.

Shujaa really need to rediscover their groove, passion, agility and flair in tackling, defending and attacking if they are to beat Spain and Ireland, leave alone giants All Blacks.

Ireland are placed above Kenya in ninth place with 49 points, while Spain are 14th, one place above relegation with 23 points.

Kenya finished last at last year’s Vancouver Sevens.

South Africa arrived in Vancouver in confident mood following their stunning 29-24 extra-time final victory over Fiji in Los Angeles last weekend and the Blitzboks line up in Pool “A” alongside England, Argentina and the invitational team, Japan.

Pool “B” sees reigning Olympic champions Fiji drawn with France, hosts Canada and Wales, who are currently occupying the relegation position and will be looking to pick up more points in the second half of the series.

Pool “D” consists of Australia, USA, Samoa and Scotland.