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Kenya 7s had a win and a loss on the first day of the World Sevens Series Playoff Promotion matches played on Friday night in Madrid.

Coached by Kevin Wambua, Shujaa started off strongly with a 19-12 victory in their opening match of Pool B against Samoa.

Kenya 7s first try

Despite Samoa enjoying possession early on, it was Shujaa who struck first when an offload by Samoa landed in Vincent Onyala’s hands, allowing him to race clear and score the opening try.

Shujaa doubled their lead when Patrick Odongo scored on the right side, giving them a 12-0 advantage that left Samoa in awe.

Samoa fought back, with Motu Opetai scoring in the seventh minute before Tuna Tuitama turned his markers inside out to tie the scores at 12-12.

Shujaa started the second half brightly, with Odongo bursting through the defense to score a center-post try, which was converted for a 19-12 lead.

Despite Samuel Asati being yellow-carded in the final seconds of the match, Kenya 7s held on as a knock-on by Samoa rescued them.

In the second match, Shujaa lost to hosts Spain with a scoreline of 10-5. Heading into the match, both teams had won their openers and were keen to finish top of the log.

The match saw strong support from fans, with Spain playing in front of their home crowd while Shujaa also had a number of traveling supporters cheering them from the Kenya corner.

Spain capitalized on the left side and struck first through their all-time top scorer, Pol Pla, who scored the opening try of the game.

The lead doubled when Tobias Sainz-Trapaga fended off Patrick Odongo to score the second try in the left corner.

Kenya 7s pull back

Despite Pla being yellow-carded, Spain maintained their momentum. As the game progressed, Kenya’s Captain Vincent Onyala spotted a gap off a ruck on the outside and quickly raced to score a try, cutting the gap to five points.

With one minute left to play, Kenya 7s won a penalty but failed to capitalize on the opportunity, sealing their 10-5 loss to Spain.

Shujaa will play Chile in the final pool match on Saturday night. The third match will determine their qualifier playoff opponent.

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