Shujaa turn focus to Dubai 7s after distasteful and tumultuous build up

The men’s national rugby 7s side, Shujaa, will be seeking to forget all the drama leading to their second outing in the 2023 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series set to take place in Dubai from 2-3 December as they chase their first win of the new season.

The Damian McGrath currently coached side, who failed to win any match in the season opening Hong Kong 7s, have had a whirlwind build up leading to their appearance at the Dubai 7s as the players revealed the crisis that has rocked them over the last three months where they have not been paid by the country’s governing body Kenya Rugby Union (KRU), forcing them to appeal for funds from the public.

The impending crisis was only averted at the start of the week when Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba met with KRU officials after a huge online furore regarding the treatment of the players and announced that the government would be catering for the team’s allowances for the back to back Dubai and Cape Town legs.

Following the relieving message from the government, Shujaa head onto the pitch with a daunting task awaiting them at The Sevens Stadium as they were grouped against overall defending champions Australia, heavyweights and defending Dubai 7s champions South Africa and Great Britain in Pool A.

The team will specifically be keen to produce positive results on the pitch as they had a start to forget in Hong Kong as they finished in last place after losing all five of their encounters against Ireland, Argentina and Canada in the group phase before being beaten by New Zealand and Uruguay in the playoff place matches.

As a result, the team finds themselves having to put up with early pressure as they sit at the bottom of the log on 1 point with the threat of relegation very much looming this season as the number of teams for the 2024 Series will reduce from 16 to 12 to equal the number of women’s teams and align with the Olympic competition structure.

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How will relegation be decided from the men’s Series 2023?

The 15th ranked core team based on accumulated Series points following the tenth round in Toulouse will be relegated.

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The teams ranked 12th, 13th and 14th at the end of Toulouse will enter a four-team relegation play-off together with the Challenger Series 2023 winners at the eleventh and final round of the Series in London.

The relegation play-off will be round-robin format with the top two teams then playing a final.

The winner will become the 12th core team on the 2024 Series, while the other three teams will enter their respective Regional Sevens Championships in order to qualify for the 2024 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series.