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Nygel Amaitsa and Kevin Wekesa of Shujaa tussle for the ball against Uruguay during the Sao Paulo Sevens. [Courtesy, World Rugby]
After a year out of the World Rugby Sevens Series, Kenya will today begin their journey to earn promotion back to the top tier, HSBC SVNS Division One, when they kick off their Hong Kong Sevens campaign against Australia and New Zealand in the afternoon.
Pooled in Group C alongside Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America, Shujaa will first face the Aussies at 12.56 pm East African time before playing the All Blacks Sevens in their second match at 3.47 pm.
Kelvin Wambua’s men will then renew their rivalry with the Americans tomorrow in their final pool match, with the top two teams from the three groups proceeding to the quarter-finals and joined by the two best losers from the remaining teams in the group.
Shujaa headed to Asia behind a mixed show during their SVNS Division two campaign played over Nairobi, Montevideo and Sao Paulo legs.
Kenya finished third in Nairobi and Uruguay before a second-placed finish in Brazil saw them finish in the top four out of six to qualify for the SVNS World Championship alongside USA, Germany and Uruguay. They joined the eight teams currently in Division One.
Speaking ahead of the Hong Kong battles, Shujaa captain Samuel Asati said they are aiming to start strong against the Aussies and build on that going forward.
The KCB scrum half said there is no room for errors at the World Championships because they want to get back to Division One.
“We know what is at stake, getting promotion back to the top-tier World Rugby Sevens Series Division One. That calls for a lot of seriousness and minimal errors. We must start strong against Australia.
“We need that good start to build on it and collect as many points as possible because anything below an eighth-place finish will hinder our promotion dreams,” said Asati.
The World Championship will feature three legs starting with Hong Kong this weekend, then Valladolid in Spain (May 29-31) and finally Bordeaux in France (June 5-7).
The winners will be crowned in France, while the top eight teams after the three legs form part of the 2026-2027 World Rugby Sevens Division One teams.
The bottom four will once again be relegated to Division Two, where two teams from Division Three will join them, and it will be played next year over three legs to determine the best four nations to qualify for the 2027 World SVSNS Championship.
Meanwhile, Kabras Sugar scrum half Brian Tanga replaced Chrisaant Ojwang in the Shujaa squad set to play in Hong Kong.
Tanga rejoins the team after recovering from a wrist injury, while Ojwang of Nakuru RFC drops out due to a hamstring injury.
Regulars Kevin Wekesa, Patrick Odongo, Nygel Amaitsa, Vincent Onyala and George Ooro will continue to lead the attacking line while new stars in Floyd Wabwire, Daniel Nyangige and Gabriel Ayimba bring in new energy. Other stars in the team include Menengai Oilers duo of John Okoth and Dennis Abukuse, together with Festus Shiasi of KCB.