Shujaa beat Zambia to qualify for World Cup
By Alex.Njue, April 25, 2022
Kenya Sevens yesterday qualified for the September’s Rugby World Cup Sevens (RWC) games in South Africa. Shujaa sailed through a brace by debutant Amon Wamalwa and an opener try by Augustine to beat Zambia 19-12 in a heated bronze final of the 2022 Rugby Africa Cup Sevens hosted by Uganda at the Kyadondo Rugby ground over the weekend.
The top three teams were assured of qualifying for World Cup while the cup finalists Uganda and Zimbabwe secured the two sole tickets to the Commonwealth Games. Luckily for Kenya, the team had already qualified for the games and only needed to finish third to book a place in the forthcoming Cape Town event.
The win over Zambia was the sole victory that Shujaa bagged on the second day after bad weather ruined their plans to defend the title. Kenya is in the lead with 5 titles while Zimbabwe still holds on to one title.
Tough challenge
A heavy downpour on Sunday morning forced the matches to be stopped. After resumption, Kenya’s physicality was neutralized for a tough challenge, making use of their possession against Madagascar.
Handling errors and the pitch conditions foiled numerous attacks. Their opponents kept it cool and scored two tries in the returning half to claim a rare 12-7 win over Kenya in the final group match that saw Zimbabwe finish first ahead of Kenya.
Despite the loss to the Makis, Kenya made the direct semifinals cut thanks to finishing second in the pool. The hosts Uganda Cranes brought in their group A game in the most anticipated semis with the bragging rights between the two East Africans, Kenya was the favourite for beating Cranes 29-0 previously in the 2019 edition.
The hosts were keen to go ahead of Kenya where a sin-bin imposed on Alvin Otieno for a dangerous tackle was too priceless to squander.
Despite the defending champion’s experience in the Migingo derby, the hosts won as Zimbabwe clawed Zambia 26-17 in a derby match dubbed ‘The Battle for Zambezi’.
Kenya’s qualification to the World Cup was a challenge right from their group opener match against Senegal. The team scored three tries against a lower-ranked team and risked losing to Zimbabwe but a comeback spirit gave them a 24-19 win over the Cheetahs before condemning Namibia 33-7 to wrap up day one.