Kenya Sevens (Shujaa) have capped their 2025 HSBC SVNS season with a spirited 24-5 win over Canada in Los Angeles, but the result was not enough to preserve their place in the top tier of the global sevens circuit.

Despite the win on Monday, May 5, 2025, Shujaa has been relegated to Division 2 under the new HSBC SVNS format, which restructured the series to include a playoff-style Grand Final for the top eight teams and left those finishing 9th to 12th outside of promotion contention.

Anthony Mboya scored two quick tries in the opening three minutes, and Vincent Onyala added a brace to complete a dominant performance in their final outing of the season.

Canada’s only try came through James Thiel in the dying moments of the match.

New SVNS structure

The LA 7s marked the conclusion of the 2025 HSBC SVNS season, which debuted a new look focused on elite competition and Olympic-style intensity.

Only the top eight teams from the regular season qualified for the Grand Final playoffs and earned automatic core status for the 2026 season.

Shujaa’s inability to crack that top eight, confirmed during the penultimate round in Singapore in April 2025, meant that their final classification matches in Los Angeles held no bearing on promotion due to the point gap between them and 8th-placed Britain.

They finished outside the playoff bracket and were therefore automatically relegated to Division 2, regardless of the win over Canada.

The Kenya Lionesses faced a similar fate in the women’s competition.

Despite a spirited 17-14 win over South Africa in their final fixture at the LA 7s, they too fell short of the points needed to earn core status in the new women’s SVNS structure and were booked to Division 2.

Freshia Oduor led the charge for the Lionesses with two tries, Sharon Auma added a third, and Sinaida Nyachio’s crucial conversion made the difference.

But like the men’s team, the result came too late to salvage their campaign.

LA 7s performance recap

Shujaa has shown flashes of form throughout the LA 7s weekend.

They opened with a hard-fought 19-12 loss to Samoa, before bouncing back with a 26-14 victory over Portugal in Pool A.

Against Portugal, Kevin Wekesa crossed the whitewash twice in the second half, with additional tries from Nygel Pettersan Amaitsa and Patrick Odongo Okong’o.

Mboya added three conversions in a clinical display that highlighted Shujaa’s attacking potential.

Earlier, in the narrow defeat to Samoa, Amaitsa bagged a brace but tries from Owen Niue, Kirisimasi Savaiinaea, and Motu Opetai gave the Pacific Islanders the edge.

In the women’s draw, the Lionesses had a rocky tournament.

They fell 33-14 to Spain in their opener, despite a brace from Oduor and conversions from Grace Okulu and Nyachio.

Their second match saw them outclassed 28-10 by Brazil, with Sheila Chajira scoring early and Nyachio adding a late consolation try.

Brazil’s Camilla Carvalho ran in two tries, with additional scores from Bianca Silva and Raquel Kochhann, who converted all four.