Pace, Power and Promise: Recap on Shujaa’s Return to the World Sevens Series

Over the weekend, the Kenya sevens side, Shujaa announced their return to the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series after missing out for a year, in the recently concluded Dubai Sevens. The young team put in a good shift and even pulled a well-deserved win against the reigning Dubai Sevens champions, South Africa. 

Dubai 7s Day One

In their first match of the day against France, Shujaa conceded a penalty that the Frenchmen capitalized on with a quick tap and the nineteen-year-old debutant Gregoire Arfevil cut their defense open to give France the opening try of the match.

A minute to the end of the first half, Shujaa’s co-captain King George “Japolo” Ooro showed his physicality with a big fend off and outpaced the French players to give Shujaa their first try of the 2024 HSBC Sevens Series, with Amaitsa scoring the extra two points effortlessly.

The start of the second half saw the young Daystar Falcons winger, Patrick Odongo, doing what he does best. He cut through the French defense to give Kenya the lead with Amaitsa slotting in the extra two points. Two missed tackles that occurred later in the game led to France scoring two tries against Shujaa, before Ben Salem’s amazing kick and chase put us at par with them. His missed conversion proved costly as it could have given Shujaa a win over France. The frenchmen went on to clinch the win in sudden death.

In the second game of the day against the formidable Blitzboks, the boys definitely gave their all. Shujaa maintained their discipline and made sure to retain the ball possession throughout the game. The Kenyan side dominated the first half with tries from Kevin Wekesa and a brace from Patrick Odongo.

Clinically, they capitalized on the lack of a sweeper and kicked the ball into a Blitzbok pocket for Odongo to chase, and boy did he deliver. His blistering pace was something the South African side could not comprehend and they therefore had no way of stopping him. The Blitzboks launched a comeback in the second half but their efforts to salvage the situation were stuffed out Amaitsa’s last minute dagger giving Shujaa a much needed win over the Blitzboks. Odongo’s pace was crucial in the defense as he made a try- saving tackle keeping Kenya in the game.

Their third and final game of the day against Australia was played early in the evening and the lads were off to a rather sluggish start. Australia had lost their first two matches and therefore the win against Shujaa was a much needed one. 

The Aussies capitalized on Kenya 7’s slow start and scored two tries in quick succession. Odongo managed to put the team on the scoreboard but the experienced Australian side was too good, managing to extend their lead seconds before the end of the first half. 

In the second half, the Australian side continued from where they left off, adding two more converted tries. Ben Salem tried to salvage the scores by converting his own try but the damage had already been done and the boys lost 31-14 to the Australians.

Dubai 7s Day Two

On the second day, Shujaa faced off with Ireland in the ninth place semi-final round, where they dominated Ireland in every way. Kevin Wekesa opened the scoring early in the first half after intercepting Ireland’s pass, deep in their red zone.

Abukuse utilized an open ball after a cheeky play by Asati and towered over the Irish defense, to get his name on the scorecard, towards the end of the first half. Shujaa’s defensive efforts proved efficient as they managed to keep the Irish side from garnering more points from them. Ben Salem crossed over the try line to seal the win for Kenya after a magnificent kick chase.

In their final match of the day against Uruguay, for the ninth place final, the lads suffered a 15-7 loss. Uruguay managed to cross over Shujaa’s try line twice in the first half with both tries going unconverted. Uruguay cemented their win in the second half, with a third unconverted try before the trailing Kenyan side managed to get themselves on the scoreboard with a last minute try from the co-captain George Ooro.

In a post-match interview, the young head coach Kevin Wmabua emphasized on the need of the players finishing off their games strongly as they had lost some of their games in the last minutes despite having an early lead. Case in point, the France game. The young lads managed to finish tenth in the series ahead of the Cape Town Sevens.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. Kicking: There’s still room for improvement in the area. The missed conversion points could have handed Shujaa effortless wins in most of their matches.

2. Asati’s agility: The young Shujaa’s co-captain’s agility during breakdowns created chances for his teammates to capitalize on and go ahead to score points. He’s one player, who if given the space will utilize it to the maximum and is therefore a key player to watch.

3. Odongo’s pace: His teammates made sure to make use of his pace with the planned chip kicks for him to chase and he more often than not converted. His chase and try saving tackle denied the Blitzboks the edge they needed to clinch the win.

4. Ooro’s physicality: The young man bossed around his opponents gaining meters for his teammates and sucked in a few opponents with every carry, creating mismatches in the game. He relied on this to cross over the try line more than once.

5. Ojwang’s injury: His untimely injury has seen the Shujaa’s co-captain Tony Omondi earn a call up and will be travelling with the side ahead of the Cape Town Sevens. In a post-match interview, the head coach Kevin “Bling” Wambua was full of assurances that it was not that serious and that Ojwang would be undergoing surgery at the earliest possible time.

Shujaa Player to Watch

Ben Salem came in as a super substitute in most of the games and managed to score points for Shujaa when it mattered. His fast decision making and pace have proved to be essential in the success of Shujaa and I believe we are yet to see his full potential. 

Overall, the rebuilding happening at the Shujaa camp is one worth watching and as the head coach said, it is important for the boys to pick up all the points they can. Let’s wish them all the best as they gear up for the upcoming Cape Town Sevens.

Feature Image credit: Kenya 7s