Shujaa finish 10th at Perth 7s after New Zealand defeat

The Kevin Wambua-led Shujaa were hoping to dust themselves off and get one up on the All Blacks in the ninth-place final, following a 29-14 loss when the two sides met in the Pool C opening clash on Friday.

The newly-promoted Shujaa had held their nerves to stun the USA 26-21 to scrape into the ninth-place playoff on Saturday.

New Zealand were off the blocks as Series veteran Regan Ware broke the deadlock in the third minute with a runaway try, but it was all Shujaa for the remainder of the first half.

Patrick Odongo and Vincent Onyala crossed for a try each as the Kenyans took a 12-7 lead into the half-time break.

But New Zealand’s big name players stood tall during the second half with playmaker Andrew Knewstubb and captain Dylan Collier scoring a try each. That saw the All Blacks take hold of the contest with a 19-12 lead with about one minute left to play in regulation.

Unfortunately for the All Blacks Sevens, Knewstubb sent the restart into touch on the full which gifted Kenya possession with about 30 seconds left to play. Shujaa threw everything at the New Zealanders, as they attacked with precision, patience and poise.

Kenya were awarded a penalty advantage after an infringement at the breakdown but chose to play on anyway. After a kick downfield, replacement Floyd Wabwire got his foot to the ball before continuing to chase with sheer determination.

But unfortunately for Kenya, the no. 25 dove in desperation and got a hand to the ball, but still, he immediately dropped his head as the ball ran dead. It ruled that he had placed the ball on the deadball line.

After collecting three points at the Perth Sevens, Kenya maintained their overall ninth position in the 12-team Series on 14 points, and with only three tournaments left before the finale, they now shift their focus to the Vancouver Sevens scheduled for February 21-23.

The team still faces an uphill battle to break into the top eight, a crucial benchmark to qualify for the season finale in Los Angeles on May 3-4.