Kenya Sevens head coach Kevin Wambua has highlighted key lessons learned from his side’s outing at the HSBC SVNS 2 tournament.

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They placed third in the competition at Nyayo National Stadium from Saturday, 14 to Sunday, 15 February, with four wins from five matches, marking a promising start to the series.

Shujaa opened with a convincing 29–12 victory over Canada, then dismantled Belgium 33–0. They rounded off Saturday’s action with a hard-fought 15–10 win over Germany, sealed in extra time after a tightly contested encounter.

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Momentum carried into Sunday as Kenya beat Uruguay 17–7, but their run ended with a 21–5 defeat to the United States in their final match of the tournament.

Reflecting on the performance, Wambua admitted that defensive decision-making, particularly at the breakdown, proved costly.

“When we don’t have possession, we tend to rush to win the ball back. That’s one area the USA exploited; they scored two tries from the ruck because we committed numbers unnecessarily. It’s something we can fix before the next tournament,” he said.

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Despite the loss, the tactician expressed satisfaction with the overall return and views the tournament as a foundation for progress.

“We went to Montevideo in 2023 when the team was still finding its feet, and I’ll use this first tournament as a platform for growth. Four wins out of five is a good return.

Of course, we wanted to win every game, but we’ve identified areas of concern, particularly overcommitting at the breakdown and staying composed when we don’t have the ball. We tend to panic when we’re not in control of possession,” he added.

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The former Mwamba RFC tactician emphasised the need for improved control and sharper execution, noting that structure and discipline will be key moving forward.

“We also need to understand that we can dictate the tempo of the game when we have a solid system, and everyone executes their role well. Ultimately, it comes down to set-piece accuracy.

We must be sharper in those areas so we can build phases and create scoring opportunities. The boys deserve a break, but we’ll be working hard, analysing video and identifying improvements ahead of the next tournament,” he said.

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The Nairobi leg marked the opening stop of the SVNS Division 2 circuit, which now heads to Montevideo, Uruguay, on March 21–22 before concluding in São Paulo, Brazil, on March 28–29.

Under the revamped format, six teams per gender compete across three events, with the top four advancing to the SVNS World Championship stage.

There, they will face the leading eight sides from Division One in Hong Kong, Valladolid, and Bordeaux, with promotion to the top tier for the 2027 season at stake.

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Shujaa head coach Kevin Wambua outlines lessons learned from HSBC SVNS 2

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