Why Kenya Lionesses-Papua New Guinea match has been cancelled
By Collins Amanga, June 21, 2024
The Kenya Lionesses will not compete in the World Rugby Sevens Repechage match against Papua New Guinea as the match has been cancelled.
Kenya Lionesses kickoff times
Scheduled for Friday at 5:20 p.m., the game was called off after Papua New Guinea failed to travel to Monaco.
The Kenya Rugby Union confirmed the Lionesses will now play only two group stage matches: against Samoa on Saturday at 2:20 p.m. and later against Argentina.
“#SevensRepechage Update | Following the withdrawal of Papua New Guinea from the tournament, the Lionesses match against PNG will not take place as earlier announced. The ladies will only play Samoa and Argentina tomorrow at 2:20 p.m. and 7:44 p.m. respectively in the pool matches,” the Union announced.
World Rugby attributed Papua New Guinea’s withdrawal to issues with securing the necessary travel documentation, impacting both their men’s and women’s teams.
“While disappointing for all concerned, the decision was made for reasons including player welfare, due to the teams not securing the necessary travel documentation to meet their pre-tournament arrival deadline,” World Rugby announced.
No points will be awarded for the matches involving Papua New Guinea.
“In accordance with the Terms of Participation agreement and in alignment with other World Rugby Sevens events, all pool matches involving Papua New Guinea will be treated as void with no points awarded,” World Rugby added.
The three-day Repechage event, taking place from June 21-23, will decide the final men’s and women’s qualifiers for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 rugby sevens competition. Stade Louis II in Monaco, a venue for final qualification events for Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, will again host this crucial event.
Kenya Lionesses among 11 teams
Following Papua New Guinea’s withdrawal, the competition now features 11 men’s and 11 women’s teams vying for the chance to represent their country at the Olympics, with only the winners securing tickets to Paris.
South Africa’s Blitzboks, Olympic bronze medallists at Rio 2016, will be strong contenders after winning the first round of SVNS 2024 in Dubai, but face tough competition from teams including Canada, Great Britain, and Spain.
The women’s tournament features a wide-open field, with Czechia making their Repechage debut and China in confident mood after dominating the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2024.
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