Kenya Sevens to renew rivalry with Fiji and South Africa at Bordeaux 7s

Shujaa scrum half Samwel Asati in action against France at Hong Kong Sevens. [KRU Media] 

Kenya Sevens will renew their rivalry with South Africa and Fiji at Bordeaux Sevens ahead of the final leg of the HSBC SVNS Championship set for France this coming weekend.

Shujaa were handed a brutal route to earning their spot in the SVNS Division One next season after landing in a tough Group A that also consists of Great Britain.

Valladolid champions Australia headline Group B that also features Spain, the USA and Uruguay, while Group C includes Argentina, New Zealand, hosts France and Germany. Only the strongest teams from each pool will progress to the knockout stage.

Kenya will be chasing a crucial quarterfinal place that would almost certainly confirm promotion to next season’s elite division.

The pool stage in France will be decisive for Shujaa’s season. 

A place in the top eight overall is required to secure a spot in Division One, and reaching the quarterfinals in Bordeaux is expected to seal that target. Every pool match therefore carries huge weight for Kenya’s survival in the top tier.

Shujaa arrive in France sitting eighth overall with 14 points after two rounds of the three-leg season finale. They earned six points in Valladolid, Spain, where they finished eighth again after a mixed set of results against some of the world’s best teams.

Their campaign has been steady but inconsistent. Kenya began with a seventh-place finish in Hong Kong, showing early promise before slipping slightly in Spain. 

Despite that drop, they remain inside the crucial top eight, just ahead of ninth-placed Uruguay, meaning the race for survival is still open heading into the final round.

In Valladolid, Kenya’s journey showed both resilience and struggle. They opened with a narrow 15-10 defeat to eventual champions Australia, a match that went to golden point after a 10-10 draw in normal time. They then suffered a 14-0 loss to South Africa, which put pressure on their qualification hopes early in the tournament.

Shujaa responded well with a 12-7 win over Great Britain to reach the quarterfinals, but Australia again proved too strong in a 21-0 defeat. A 14-5 loss to France in the classification match eventually confirmed eighth place overall.