Kenya Sevens side Shujaa endured a frustrating end to their pool campaign at the third leg of the HSBC SVNS World Championship in Bordeaux, France, after falling 14-5 to Great Britain and finishing the group stage without a victory.
Kevin Wambua's men arrived in Bordeaux hoping to replicate their recent habit of recovering from early setbacks to secure a place in the knockout rounds. Instead, successive defeats to Fiji, South Africa and Great Britain left the Kenyans rooted at the bottom of their pool and facing an early exit from title contention.
The decisive clash against Great Britain carried significant importance for Shujaa, who were desperate to register their first win of the tournament after opening losses against Fiji and South Africa.
Kenya began brightly and showed intent in the opening exchanges. David Nyangige gathered possession well from the restart while Dennis Abukuse produced a powerful carry from a scrum to push Shujaa deep into British territory. However, handling errors and turnovers once again proved costly as Kenya failed to convert promising attacking positions into points.
Great Britain capitalised on those mistakes midway through the first half. A perfectly weighted kick from Graham split the Kenyan defence, allowing Charlton Kerr to chase and score after evading Samuel Asati's tackle attempt. The successful conversion handed the Europeans a 7-0 lead.
Shujaa had an opportunity to respond when Abukuse forced a turnover inside Kenya's half, but the momentum was short-lived. Great Britain regained possession and struck again through Finley Lloyd Gilmour, who sprinted clear to score their second try. Another successful conversion gave Britain a commanding 14-0 advantage at the break.
The second half followed a similar script as Kenya struggled to establish rhythm. Despite enjoying periods of possession and benefiting from a British lineout mistake, Shujaa found it difficult to break through a disciplined defence while also losing crucial battles at the breakdown.
As the match entered its closing stages, Kenya finally found a reward for their persistence. Patrick Odongo crossed over for Shujaa's only try after sustained pressure near the British line. The conversion, however, drifted wide, leaving Kenya with too much ground to make up.
With the final hooter already sounding, Great Britain kicked the ball into touch to secure a 14-5 victory and condemn Kenya to a third consecutive defeat in Bordeaux.
The loss capped a difficult campaign for Shujaa, who had opened the tournament with a 31-12 defeat to Fiji before suffering a 26-5 loss to African rivals South Africa in their second pool match.
Against Fiji, Kenya struggled to contain the Pacific Islanders' attacking threat, while South Africa showcased their superiority in a fiercely contested African derby to leave Shujaa with an uphill task heading into the final group fixture.
Having failed to win any of their three pool matches, Kenya will now turn their attention to the placement rounds as they seek to finish the tournament on a positive note and collect valuable points in the overall HSBC SVNS standings.
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