Kenya Sevens’ HSBC SVNS promotion hangs in the balance after loss to Germany
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Reading Time: 2min | Sat. 06.06.26. | 22:20
Shujaa will now contest the 11th-place playoff, where victory would see them collect four points
Kenya Sevens’ hopes of securing promotion to the HSBC SVNS remain on a knife-edge after a narrow 7-5 defeat to Germany on Saturday, 6 June.
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Shujaa entered the match knowing that victory would keep their push for a ninth-place finish firmly on track, but a single first-half lapse ultimately proved the difference as they slipped to another defeat in France.
Germany capitalised on an opportunity midway through the opening half after finding space on the outside from deep inside Kenya’s territory. Felix Hufnagel showed pace and composure to slice through the Kenyan defence and touch down for the game’s opening try.
The conversion was successfully added, handing Germany a 7-0 advantage heading into the halftime break.
Kenya emerged for the second half with greater urgency and began asking more questions of the German defence. Their persistence eventually paid off when Samuel Asati produced a clever offload to release Patrick Odongo, who raced over for Shujaa’s only try of the encounter.
However, the missed conversion proved costly, leaving Kenya trailing by two points at 7-5.
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Despite dominating possession and applying sustained pressure in the closing minutes, Shujaa could not find a way past Germany’s disciplined defensive line, with the Europeans holding firm to secure the victory.
The defeat extends Kenya’s winless run in Bordeaux and leaves their promotion ambitions hanging in the balance heading into the final round of classification matches.
Shujaa will now contest the 11th-place playoff, where victory would see them collect four points.
Their final standing in the tournament, however, could also be influenced by other results, particularly the USA’s performance in the seventh-place playoff, which could take the Americans to 10 points.