The men’s national 7s team, known as Shujaa, clinched a hard-fought victory against Tonga with a scoreline of 17-14, qualifying for the quarterfinals of the second leg of the World Rugby Challenger Series held in Montevideo on Saturday evening.
Coming off a disappointing 17-0 loss to Georgia in their second Pool A match, Shujaa entered the game seeking redemption. John Okoth opened the scoring with the first try, with co-captain Tony Omondi converting.
Taking advantage of a yellow card to Tonga’s Semisi Maasi, Shujaa extended their lead with another try from Omondi in the third minute.
Tonga narrowed the deficit after halftime with a converted try by Siaoisi Huihui. Sione Tupou then leveled the score with a try, converted by Maasi.
Despite facing adversity with a yellow card to Lamec Ambetsa, Shujaa regained the lead with a last-minute try by Nygel Amaitsa. However, the conversion was missed by Dennis Abukuse.
With this victory, Shujaa secured the second spot in Pool A with six points, setting up a quarterfinal clash against neighboring Uganda at 14:55 (East African Time).
In another fixture, the women’s team, Lionesses, will face China in their quarterfinal match scheduled for 12:11 AM.
Coach Dennis Mwanja’s Lionesses finished third in Pool B with three points, following defeats to Hong Kong China and Belgium but securing a win over Papua New Guinea.
