Kenya 7s Last Chance to Salvage Season Begins in Toulouse

Kenya Sevens will begin their final journey to salvage their fortunes in the World Rugby Sevens Series on Friday. They will face Uruguay in Pool “A” of their opening match at France Sevens in Toulouse.

The match will take place at Stade ERnest-Wallon at 4.07 pm local time. Later that evening, they will play against World Rugby Sevens Series leaders New Zealand at 7.16 pm. Kenya, who are currently placed 13th in the Series with 37 points, have minimal chances of finishing in the top 11 to avoid the relegation play-off.

Shujaa’s last chance to avoid relegation is at the play-off due for London Sevens where Kenya will face either Spain or Uruguay, Canada and Tonga, who recently won the 2023 Challenger Series.

The relegation play-off will be played in a round-robin format, with the top two teams meeting in the final. The winner will become the 12th core team in the 2024 Series.

“This is the most favourable pooling we have this season, and if we can’t succeed in Toulouse, then we have another chance in London where it will be a do-or-die situation for us,” said Kenya Sevens head coach Damian McGrath.

McGrath warned that they cannot ignore Toulouse and focus on the relegation play-off as injuries can change everything.

The men’s Series has seen five different winners, including Australia, Samoa, South Africa, Argentina, and New Zealand, through the opening nine tournaments. New Zealand became the first nation other than hosts France to secure their Paris 2024 Olympic spot in Singapore, and the three remaining spots will be filled over the next two weekends.

Argentina can officially qualify this weekend by making the Cup semi-finals, while Fiji can secure their spot by winning the Cup title. Kenya can only hope South Africa, who are placed seventh with 106 points, finish in the top four and automatically qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

This means that South Africa must reach the semi-finals in Toulouse and London to have a chance of making it to France and avoid the African qualifiers.