Shujaa fall to Spain in second HSBC SVNS Series playoff
Rugby
By
Washington Onyango
| May 31, 2024
After a perfect start to the HSBC SVNS Series promotion and relegation playoffs, Kenya Sevens were made to count their mistakes after losing 10-5 to hosts Spain in their second Group B match played on Friday at Civitas Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid.
Kenya made a perfect start to the qualifiers after withstanding hard hitting Samoa to win 19-12.
In the match, Patrick Odongo scored two tries and made a last minute tackle while Vincent Onyala added another try to lead Kenya to victory ahead of Sunday's winner takes it all finals.
However, in their second match, ball handling mistakes and failure to retain possession cost Shujaa as Spain capitalised twice to tale a 10-0 half time lead.
Despite reducing the gap to 10-5 after captain Onyala break from his own half to score an unconverted try, Shujaa wasted a last gasp opportunity to either score the winner or tie the scores after Brian Tanga's long pass missed a charging Patrick Odongo.
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Spain held on to win 10-5 and lead Group B after two rounds.
The Kevin Wambua charges are currently playing for position in Group B which also has hosts Spain and Chile. After the group matches, Kenya will then face off with an opponent from Group A in the winner takes it all finale on Sunday.
Group A has USA, Uruguay, Canada and Germany. According to the schedules, the top ranked team in Group A will play the bottom ranked team in Group B while the second Ranked team in Group A face off against the third ranked team in Group B and vice versa.