Promotion battle heats up as Shujaa, Lionesses begin Montevideo series
By Luke Oluoch, March 21, 2026The Kenya Men’s Rugby 7s team, Shujaa, and their female counterparts, the Kenya Lionesses, are all back in action this Saturday, March 21, 2026, as the second leg of the 2026 HSBC SVNS2 continues in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Lionesses, who finished fifth in the previous leg in Nairobi, will be the busier side of the day, with three fixtures on the cards.
After failing to impress in the Nairobi leg, Simon Odongo’s girls step up their hunt for better tidings with equally tough opposition in wait.
A clash against China at 5:00 pm will kick-start their hunt for points in South America before they face Argentina at 8:20 pm in their second encounter.
Their clash will conclude against Spain at 11:00 pm.
Meanwhile, Kevin Bling Wambua’s Shujaa team, who mustered a third-place finish on home soil, also faces a tough promotion battle in their chase for top-tier status.
The Montevideo leg offers little respite for the side, who face off against USA Rugby in their first match.
The 6:30 pm tie will see Kenyan seek to avenge a 21-5 loss suffered against the US during the Nairobi leg that condemned the team to a third-place finish.
Canada will then follow next in testing the promotion resolve of the Sevens team in a 9:20 pm clash on Saturday.
Sunday action
Action will continue on Sunday with Shujaa featuring in the three games.
A 12:08 am tie against Belgium will open their forays before facing Germany in a potential promotion six-pointer at 9:55 pm.
The clash will bear much significance for Kenya and coach Wambua, as the Germans currently lead the Kenyans in the race for promotion.
Speaking ahead of the camp, Lionesses head coach Simon Odong’o reiterated the team’s ambition:
“Our target is clear; we want to finish in the top three in both Montevideo and São Paulo. That gives us a real opportunity to compete in the Championship playoffs, which is our ultimate goal,” Odongo said via a KRU statement on Tuesday, March 3, 2026.