Shujaa suffer bitter defeat to South Africa in Hong Kong 7s
By Luke Oluoch, April 18, 2026Kenya Sevens Shujaa’s quest to advance to the HSBC Sevens Series Hong Kong Sevens came to a heartbreaking end following a painful 26-22 defeat to South Africa in the main cup quarterfinals on Saturday, April 18, 2026.
Kevin Bling Wambua’s charges slumped to the loss despite taking an early advantage as they sought to get over the seasoned side.
In a fitting response after edging the USA to attain qualification from a tough Group C, Kenya started dominantly, with John Okoth scoring the opening try for Kenya after a Vincent Onyala offload.
Dennis Abukuse then powered through the Soring Boks’ defense and crossed the white line to give Kenya a 12–7 lead.
The East Africans sustained the impressive start after the restart, with Kevin “Yoko” Wekesa adding another before Festus Shiasi momentarily putting them ahead 22–14.
Boks rally to tame Shujaa
South Africa dug deep with strikes from Selvwn Davids, Donavan Don, Quewin Nortje, and Siviwe Soyizwapi, putting them level with minutes to go.
The clash was decided on fine margins late on, after a conversion by Ronald Brown and a last-minute try from Soyizwapi sealed the victory for the Springboks, eliminating Kenya from advancing to the semifinals of the series.
Hong Kong exploits
Kenya’s World Championship mission in Hong Kong started on Friday, April 17, 2026, in a contrasting fashion, with a win and a couple of defeats against Australia and a 28-12 defeat to New Zealand on day one.
Shujaa then showed resilience to bounce back to their winning ways after beating the USA 17-10 on Saturday morning, April 18, 2026, after a difficult opening day.
Next assignment
Following the quarterfinal exit, Shujaa moves to the fifth-place semifinals, where they are scheduled to battle France. South Africa advances to face New Zealand in the main Cup semifinals.
Shujaa is pushing to regain a place in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.