Shujaa lose to USA in Dubai Sevens opener

Kenya’s Shujaa suffered a 14-7 defeat at the hands of USA as the new HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series began this morning at the Sevens Stadium in Dubai.

USA took the lead at the close of a tight first half through Steve Tomasin who converted his own try as they led 7-0 at the interval.

Herman Humwa crossed over the whitewash and Daniel Taabu converted to level matters after the restart before the Americans pulled away again after some superb work from Logan Tago.

Tomasin converted again to leave the score at 14-7 which the Americans protected comfortably until full time.

Shujaa next face Argentina, who hammered Spain 28-7, at 1.30pm. Shujaa will complete their group matches with a date against Spain at 4.02pm.

The top two teams in each pool will advance to the quarter-finals, as well as the two best third placed teams.

New Zealand are the reigning men’s and women’s champions, having triumphed in the 2019-2020 season, but are absent due to travel issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic.