Kenya Sevens team kicked off their Perth 7s campaign on a bad foot after recording their second defeat in the hands of Fiji on Friday, January 24, 2025.

Shujaa registered a humiliating 21-14 defeat to Fiji in their second Pool C match of the Perth 7s despite touching the ground first in the high-intensity encounter.

Coach Kevin Bling Wambua’s charges opened the scoring through Nygel Amaitsa who latched onto a perfectly placed grabber to give Kenya the lead.

He then converted to hand Shujaa a comfortable 7-0 lead.

Amaitsa with a grabber try…conversion is good.

🇰🇪 7 – 0 🇫🇯#Shujaa #SportpesaNaShujaa #MpesaPowersKenya7s #SafaricomRugby

— Shujaa (@KenyaSevens) January 24, 2025

Joji Nasova cut short Kenya 7’s celebrations by powering through Shujaa’s backline to level the score following a successful conversion.

Shujaa who was looking to build on the Cape Town 7s performance where they finished seventh in the World Rugby series log, regained the lead before halftime courtesy of Amaitsa adding the extras.

At the break, Kenya was sitting on a 14-7 advantage.

Their hopes of claiming their first win in Perth 7s dwindled after Fiji capitalized on a lapse in concentration from the Kenyan defence, with Joseva Talacolo slicing through to reduce the deficit to 14-12 following a brilliant pass from Teba.

Nasova buried the game in Fiji’s favour after evading pressure from the Kenyan side through quick footwork which helped complete his hat-trick.

The 14-21 defeat left Kenya at the Bottom of Pool C with a negative 22-point difference. Wambua’s men remain in ninth place in the overall standings with 11 points.

First defeat

Fiji’s whipping was the second defeat at Perth 7s on Friday, January 24, 2025. In their opening match, Shujaa went down 14-29 against New Zealand.

Unlike in Fiji’s encounter, Shujaa got off to a poor start, conceding in the first minute after debutant Frank Vaenuku crossed over the whitewash after just 30 seconds to give New Zealand the lead, a try that Ngarohi McGarvey-Black converted for 7-0.

A series of brilliant defending from Shujaa followed, keeping the All Blacks at bay before captain George Ooro led by example after shrugging off two defenders before scoring between the posts.

Amaitsa who has so far been a bright spark in the Kenyan side, added the extras as Kenya tied the scores at 7-7.

Regan Ware however restored New Zealand’s advantage with a try after the hooter for the All Blacks to take a 14-7 half-time lead after McGarvey added the extras.

Second-half tries from Andrew Knestubb, CodyVai and McGarvey deemed Kenya’s hope of digging deep to register a win against the All Blacks.

Shujaa will return to action on Saturday, January 25, 2025, to face Uruguay in a must-win match starting at 7:00 am.

#HSBCSVNSPER

Here's our day one score card. Looking forward to a better day 2.#Shujaa #MpesaPowersKenya7s #SafaricomRugby #SportpesaNaShujaa pic.twitter.com/DqgDQ2lefb

— Shujaa (@KenyaSevens) January 24, 2025