Kenya’s national rugby sevens team, Shujaa, will compete in the second tier of the HSBC SVNS circuit next season after their hopes of retaining top-flight status were ended following the conclusion of the 2026 HSBC SVNS World Championship in Bordeaux, France.

Despite defeating Uruguay 26-7 in the 11th-place playoff on Sunday, Kenya’s fate was ultimately decided elsewhere as the United States edged Fiji 17-14 in the fifth-place playoff match.

Shujaa entered the final day still with a mathematical chance of securing a place in the 2026/27 SVNS league phase. However, they needed Fiji to beat the USA for those hopes to remain alive. Instead, the Americans claimed a narrow victory, earning enough points to move above Kenya in the final standings and confirm Shujaa’s relegation.

Earlier in the day, Kenya ended their Bordeaux campaign on a positive note with a convincing win over Uruguay at the Stade de Bordeaux.

Vincent Onyala opened the scoring in the fifth minute before David Nyangige converted to hand Kenya a 7-0 lead. Uruguay responded through Francisco Landauer, who scored and converted to level matters at 7-7 at halftime.

Shujaa dominated the second half, with John Okoth Okeyo crossing over in the ninth minute before Nyangige added another try a minute later and successfully converted to extend Kenya’s advantage to 19-7.

Brian Tanga then put the result beyond doubt with Kenya’s fourth try in the 14th minute, while Jackson Siketi added the conversion as Shujaa wrapped up a comfortable 26-7 victory.

The result secured an 11th-place finish in Bordeaux but was not enough to preserve Kenya’s place among the elite teams on the global circuit.

Shujaa endured a difficult final leg, suffering pool-stage defeats to Fiji, South Africa and Great Britain before losing 7-5 to Germany in the ninth-place semi-final. Their only win of the tournament came against Uruguay on the final day.

Kenya finished the World Championship campaign with 16 overall points, but the USA’s victory over Fiji saw the Americans climb to 17 points and move ahead of Shujaa in the race for Division One places.

The outcome means Kevin Wambua’s side will continue their journey in SVNS 2 next season as they seek a return to the top tier after missing out on promotion through the World Championship route.

Kenya will now shift focus to the 2026/27 SVNS 2 season, which will feature six teams competing for promotion back to the top-flight series, with Nairobi among the host venues set to stage a leg of the competition.