Kenya Morans concede late as Zimbabwe claim Africa Men's Sevens bronze
Reading Time: 2min | Sun. 22.06.25. | 19:06
The Kenyan boys were on verge of sealing bronze but a mistake saw Zimbabwe snatch victory in the dying moments of the encounter
Kenya Morans were forced to settle for fourth place at the 2025 Africa Men’s 7s after suffering a heartbreaking 21-19 defeat to Zimbabwe in the third-place playoff held on Sunday, 22 June at the Labourdonnais Sports Club in Mauritius.
The Morans, who were looking to bounce back from a narrow semi-final loss to Madagascar, showed early promise and dominated the opening half.
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Chrisant Ojwang opened the scoring with a dazzling solo run that split the Zimbabwean defence, although Jackson Siketi’s conversion attempt fell short.
Kenya doubled their lead before the break when Dennis Abukuse burst down the left wing to score a second try, giving the Morans a 12-0 advantage at halftime.
Zimbabwe, however, came out firing from all cylinders in the second half.
They halved the deficit with a converted try before Abukuse struck again for Kenya, showcasing his speed to race clear for his second of the match.
Siketi made no mistake this time, converting to extend the Morans’ lead to 19-7.
But the Cheetahs refused to back down. Edward Sigauke narrowed the gap with a breakaway try under the posts, bringing the score to 19-14 after the conversion.
With Kenya in possession and seconds remaining on the clock, a big mistake cost them dearly.
The Morans were penalized for time-wasting at their attacking lineout, handing Zimbabwe one last opportunity.
The Cheetahs made it count as Trevor Gurwe crossed the whitewash to level the scores and then calmly slotted the winning conversion to complete a stunning comeback.
Despite the narrow loss, the Morans can take pride in their improved showing this year, finishing two spots higher than their sixth-place finish in 2024.
Siketi was crowned the Most Promising Young Player of the tournament.
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