Kenya 7s suffered their fourth consecutive loss in the Vancouver leg of the World 7s Series, falling 19-14 to Uruguay at BC Place in the ninth place semis.
This defeat sees them drop to 11th place in the playoffs, where they will now face England, who also lost to the USA, at 9:50 p.m. East African Time.
Kenya 7s changes
In an attempt to break their losing streak, coach Kevin Wambua made one change to the starting lineup, bringing in Nygel Amaitsa.
However, Shujaa were quickly on the back foot, with Uruguay capitalizing on three quick offloads that left Kenya’s defense exposed, allowing Tomas Etcheverry to score and give the South Americans a 7-0 lead.
Kenya was forced into an early substitution when Amaitsa was injured, with Jone Kubu Tavaga making his first half appearance for the team.
Kenya responded well, with Vincent Onyala setting up Kevin Wekesa, who offloaded to Kubu for the try, leveling the score at 7-7.
Just a minute later, Kubu, the Fijian-born Kenyan international, broke through Uruguay’s defense again, scoring at the corner to give Kenya a 14-7 lead.
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The second half saw Uruguay fight back. Juan Gonzalez leveled the score at 14-14 in the 10th minute after a scrum, and just two minutes later, he scored again, pushing Uruguay into a 19-14 lead.
In the final moments, Kenya attempted to find a late winner. Brian Tanga’s grabber kick was nearly capitalized on by speedster Floyd Wabwire, but Uruguay managed to claim the ball and kick it out, securing a 19-14 victory.
Vancouver 7s results
Women’s
12:18 AM – Fiji 7s vs Great Britain 7s (Pool C)
12:40 AM – France 7s vs Japan 7s (Pool C)
1:02 AM – China 7s vs Ireland 7s (Pool B)
1:24 AM – New Zealand 7s vs USA 7s (Pool B)
1:46 AM – Brazil 7s vs Spain 7s (Pool A)
2:08 AM – Australia 7s vs Canada 7s (Pool A)
Men’s
3:07 AM – USA 7s 21-0 Ireland 7s (9th Place Semi Final)
3:29 AM – Uruguay 7s 19-14 Kenya 7s (9th Place Semi Final)
3:51 AM – New Zealand 7s vs Spain 7s (Cup Quarter Finals)
4:13 AM – Argentina 7s vs France 7s (Cup Quarter Finals)
4:35 AM – Fiji 7s vs Great Britain 7s (Cup Quarter Finals)
4:57 AM – South Africa 7s vs Australia 7s (Cup Quarter Finals)
Women’s
5:48 AM – TBC vs TBC (9th Place Semi Final)
6:10 AM – TBC vs TBC (9th Place Semi Final)
6:32 AM – TBC vs TBC (Cup Quarter Finals)
6:54 AM – TBC vs TBC (Cup Quarter Finals)
7:16 AM – TBC vs TBC (Cup Quarter Finals)
7:38 AM – TBC vs TBC (Cup Quarter Finals)
Men’s
9:50 PM – Ireland vs Kenya (11th Place Play-Off)
10:34 PM – USA vs Uruguay (9th Place Play-Off)
11:30 PM – TBC vs TBC (Cup Semi Finals)
11:52 PM – TBC vs TBC (Cup Semi Finals)
Women’s
10:12 PM – TBC vs TBC (11th Place Play-Off)
10:56 PM – TBC vs TBC (9th Place Play-Off)
12:14 AM – TBC vs TBC (Cup Semi Finals)
12:36 AM – TBC vs TBC (Cup Semi Finals)
Men’s
1:20 AM – TBC vs TBC (7th Place Play-Off)
2:04 AM – TBC vs TBC (5th Place Play-Off)
3:05 AM – TBC vs TBC (3rd Place Play-Off)
4:05 AM – TBC vs TBC (Cup Final)
Women’s
1:42 AM – TBC vs TBC (7th Place Play-Off)
2:26 AM – TBC vs TBC (5th Place Play-Off)
3:33 AM – TBC vs TBC (3rd Place Play-Off)
4:41 AM – TBC vs TBC (Cup Final)
