Kenya’s sevens national team will today launch their fight to avoid relegation from the World Rugby Sevens Series.
The Damian McGrath-coached side will kick off their quest against Uruguay today from 2:07 pm East African Time at the penultimate stage of the campaign, Toulouse Sevens.
Shujaa who are in Group A alongside series leaders New Zealand and Canada have to collect at least 12 points and above to stand a chance of avoiding relegation when the season comes to an end.
Kenya are currently placed 13th in the standings with 37 points, 12 points behind Uruguay heading into the final two legs in Toulouse and London.
According to World Rugby, the 15th-ranked core teams and below based on accumulated series points following the tenth round in Toulouse will be relegated.
The teams ranked 12th, 13th, and 14th at the end of the Toulouse’s leg will enter a four-team relegation play-off together with the Challenger Series 2023 winners at the eleventh and final round of the series in London.
Speaking during the squad unveiling at the team’s Kasarani training base, McGrath said, “We’ve picked a very solid and experienced squad, it’s as experienced as we could get. The boys all understand what’s at stake, and we are just going to play to our best.”
“The key to it all is can we eradicate our own mistakes which have been our Achilles heel. We’ve got a very simple plan that we hope suits what we have, and we’ll try and follow it through,” he stated.
Humphrey Kayange who was recently elected KRU Director in Charge of National Squads opined that Kenya needed to build on the good performances that had been witnessed across the season.
“Throughout the season we’ve had some good plays, we’ve had moments where we didn’t get lucky in terms of getting our results in. Such is the nature of the sport. The main task for the team going out is to focus on Toulouse and work very hard to ensure we get results and maintain our status on the series,” Khayange said.
If by any chance the Damian McGrath-coached side fails to finish in the top ten and accumulate enough points a relegation playoff competition will await them in the London 7s.
Four top-tier teams will be competing to take the single ticket that will guarantee safety in the Series.
Friday 12th May
Kenya vs Uruguay – 2.07 PM
Kenya vs New Zealand – 7.16 PM
Saturday 13th May
Kenya vs Canada – 1.21 PM
