Kenya’s national rugby sevens team, Shujaa, concluded its campaign at the Valladolid 7s, the second leg of the three-legged 2026 HSBC SVNS World Championship in Spain, with an eighth-place finish after losing 14-5 to France in the seventh-place playoff on Sunday, May 31.
The defeat marked Shujaa’s fourth loss of the tournament. Kevin Wambua’s side opened their campaign with a narrow 15-10 extra-time defeat to Australia before falling 14-0 to South Africa in their second Pool A match. Shujaa bounced back with a 12-7 victory over Great Britain to secure a place in the Cup quarter-finals as one of the best third-placed teams.
However, their hopes of a higher finish were ended by a 21-0 defeat to Australia in the quarter-finals before Sunday’s loss to France consigned them to eighth place.
In the seventh-place playoff, France struck first through Enahemo Artaud in the fourth minute, with the try converted for a 7-0 lead. Artaud crossed over again moments later, racing through the Kenyan defence for his second try of the match, while Paulin Riva added the conversion to stretch the lead to 14-0.
Shujaa responded just before the break, through John Okoth, who collected an offload from Samuel Asati before sprinting down the left wing to score. Although a French player appeared to have stopped him, a Television Match Official(TMO) review confirmed the try, reducing the deficit to 14-5 after David Nyangige’s conversion attempt missed the target.
Kenya’s comeback hopes were dealt a blow in the second half when substitute Victor “Mola” Odhiambo was shown a yellow card, reducing Shujaa to six players. France held on to secure the victory and seventh place.
Shujaa collected six points from the Valladolid leg, adding to the eight points earned during the opening leg in Hong Kong in April. The result leaves Kenya on 14 points and eighth in the overall standings heading into the final leg of the World Championship Series in Bordeaux, France, from June 5-7.
France also moved onto 14 points after their Valladolid campaign, setting up a tight battle for places in the top eight, with only the top eight teams guaranteed a place in Division One next season while the bottom four drop to HSBC SVNS 2.
