WORLD SEVENS SERIES

Kenya 7s struggles in Vancouver countinue with France loss

Kenya 7s captains Tony Omondi and Vincent Onyala in Challenger Series. PHOTO/Rugby Afrique

Kenya 7s suffered a second defeat in the Vancouver 7s, losing 33-7 to France in their second pool match on Saturday morning.

This came after a heavy 24-0 loss to Argentina, a match where Shujaa struggled to even exit their own half.

Kenya 7s vs France

Having defeated France just once in their last 10 encounters (in 2022), the Kenyan side was eager to break their long winless streak against the French team.

However, things went awry early on. An overthrow at a line-out by Samuel Asati was intercepted by France, who moved the ball swiftly for Simon Désert to score. Enahemo Artaud added the conversion for a 7-0 lead.

The French extended their lead when Stephen Parez Edo dotted down for a second try. Shujaa tried to build some momentum, but their attack was stifled a handling errors. Edo Martin capitalized on a defensive lapse, completing his brace and extending the lead to 19-0 just before halftime.

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Patrick Odongo gave Shujaa some hope with a try down the right wing, which was converted to make it 19-7 at the break.

Kenya 7s attempt

In the second half, Gregoire Arfeuil scored for France, making it 26-7. Shujaa came close to responding but had a try from Brian Tanga disallowed due to a forward pass. France sealed the win when Celian Pouzelgues raced through to score, making it 33-7.

With two heavy losses, Shujaa are now out of contention for the Cup quarterfinals. They will face Great Britain in their final group-stage match at 10:58 p.m. on Saturday.

 

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