Kenya Sevens suffer another Australia loss in HSBC SVNS World Championship quarters
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Reading Time: 2min | Sat. 30.05.26. | 19:03
The defeat marks a frustrating result to an otherwise encouraging tournament in which they recovered from two opening-day losses to force their way into the quarterfinals
Kenya Sevens will have to settle for classification matches at the HSBC SVNS World Championship after suffering a 21-0 defeat to Australia in the quarterfinals on Saturday, 30 May at the Estadio José Zorrilla in Valladolid, Spain.
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Having scraped through to the Cup quarterfinals as one of the best third-placed teams, Shujaa knew they faced a daunting task against an Australian side that had already beaten them during the pool phase.
The challenge became even tougher almost immediately. Australia struck inside the opening minute through Maurice Longbottom, whose early try handed the pool winners a lead they never relinquished.
Despite showing defensive resilience for much of the first half, Kenya struggled to create meaningful attacking opportunities as Australia controlled possession and territory.
The narrow margin at the break kept Shujaa within touching distance, but the contest swung firmly in Australia's favour after halftime.
Ben Dowling crossed over in the ninth minute before Longbottom added the conversion to stretch the lead to 14-0.
With Kenya chasing the game, Australia capitalised on the spaces that opened up, and Longbottom completed his brace in the 12th minute to put the result beyond doubt.
The victory sent Australia into the semi-finals, while Kenya's wait for a first-ever appearance in a World Championship final continued.
For Kevin Wambua's men, the defeat marks a frustrating result to an otherwise encouraging tournament in which they recovered from two opening-day losses to force their way into the quarterfinals.
Kenya Sevens will now face France in the seventh-place playoff on Sunday, 31 May at 2:26 pm
Shujaa had kept their knockout hopes alive with a crucial victory over Great Britain earlier on Saturday before running into a clinical Australian outfit in the last eight.
Australia will now join Fiji in the semi-finals after the Fijians produced one of the standout performances of the tournament, dismantling New Zealand 40-0 in their quarter-final clash.