Patrick Odongo scored two crucial tries to help Kenya 7s win the Challenger Series opener in Dubai, beating Chile 12-5 in the final at the Sevens Stadium.
Shujaa, having won four out of their first five matches and eliminating Uruguay and Japan to reach this stage, faced off against Chile, who had also performed well, securing victories against Georgia and Germany to advance.
Kenya 7s opener
In the opening minutes of the clash, Kenya dominated, with Patrick Odongo making a significant impact by rounding his marker on the left wing and scoring the opening try. This extended Odongo’s tally to 10 tries for the weekend.
Kenya 7s speedster Patrick Odongo scores. PHOTO/Mike Lee for World Rugby.
Chile managed to pull back, seizing possession from a loose ball, and Benjamin Videla touched down for an unconverted try. The teams entered the halftime break with just one point separating them. The second half remained equally tight, but Shujaa found a way to score.
Nygel Amaitsa once again executed a well-placed grubber kick, and Odongo, showing his prowess, collected the ball and scored the crucial try. This marked Odongo’s 11th try of the tournament.
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With this victory, Kenya 7s will now shift their focus to the second leg of the Challenger Series scheduled for March in Uruguay.
The Challenger was introduced in February 2020 to boost the development of rugby sevens across the globe and provide a clear promotion pathway to reach the top level of global rugby sevens for the short format of the game which has experienced huge growth over the past two decades since the introduction of the global sevens series and becoming an Olympic sport at the Rio 2016 Games.
Kenya 7s John Okoth in action against Mexico. PHOTO/Mike Lee for World Rugby
The HSBC Sevens Challenger 2024 will take place in three rounds on three continents between January and May, providing a clear promotion pathway to reach the pinnacle of HSBC SVNS in 2025.
The top four placed men’s and women’s World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2024 teams, based on cumulative series points after the third round, will secure their opportunity to compete in the new high-stakes promotion and relegation play-off competition at the SVNS Grand Final in Madrid on 31 May – 2 June 2024 against the teams ranked ninth to 12th from HSBC SVNS 2024.
