Kenya's Rugby Sevens fate hangs in the balance at London 7s

The London 7s is Kenya’s final stab at securing core nation status for the 2024 World Rugby Sevens Series which has been whittled down from 16 to 12 teams. Kenya finished 13th in Toulouse, France further sinking them to misery. The Damian Mc Grath-coached side have been placed in the 2024 playoffs pool which consists of teams battling for survival.

Shujaa were off to sluggish starts in Toulouse where they lost all their pool matches against New Zealand (31-5), Canada (33-7), and Uruguay (19-5). They would then lose to Samoa (17-10) in the ninth-place quarters before securing wins over the USA (19-0), and Japan (33-12) in the 13th-place playoff.

Uruguay and Canada, who alongside Shujaa, finished outside the top 11 safety net after last weekend’s Toulouse 7s will now compete with Challenger series winners Tonga for the final slot in next season’s series.

The top two sides after the round-robin competition will face off in Sunday’s playoff final for the 12th and final slot in the 2024 World Rugby Sevens Series.

Shujaa will begin their campaign with a clash against Canada before facing off with Tonga and Uruguay in their subsequent fixtures.

Meanwhile, Pool A has Series Champions New Zealand, South Africa, Britain, and the USA while Pool B consists of Argentina, Ireland, Fiji, and Japan who were relegated. Pool C is made up of France, Australia, Spain, and Samoa.

Pool Playoff Fixtures

Saturday 20 May

Kenya v Canada | 1.51 pm

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Uruguay v Tonga | 2.13 pm

Kenya v Tonga | 4.59 pm

Uruguay v Canada | 5.21 pm

Sunday 21 May

Canada v Tonga | 1.57 pm

Uruguay v Kenya | 2.19 pm

Playoff Final

Playoff Pos 1 v Playoff Pos 2 | 6.56 pm

London 7s Pools

Pool A: New Zealand, South Africa, Great Britain, the USA

Pool B: Argentina, Ireland, Fiji, Japan

Pool C: France, Australia, Spain, Samoa

2024 playoffs pools: Uruguay, Kenya, Canada, Tonga