The national men’s rugby 7s team secured second place at the Singapore 7s after a narrow defeat to Fiji in the final on Sunday evening.
Shujaa drew first blood with Nygel Amaitsa scoring a try off a long kick from Kenya’s 22, crossing over to touch down.
Amaitsa then nailed the conversion, giving Shujaa a 7-0 lead at halftime.
However, Fiji turned the tide in the second half. Viwa Naduvalo leveled the scores with a try in the eighth minute, followed by Sakiusa Siqila’s successful conversion.
With just three minutes remaining, Naduvalo completed Fiji’s comeback by scoring a second try. Filipe Sautaraga added the conversion to give Fiji a 14-7 advantage.
From the restart, Rauto Vakadranu sealed the victory for Fiji, with Manueli Maisamoa adding the conversion to push the lead further.
William Mwanji’s late try for Shujaa was merely a consolation as they fell short of victory.
Nonetheless, Shujaa’s impressive run to the final in the World Series’ ultimate leg in Singapore was commendable.
Now, Wambua’s charges will focus on the relegation playoffs in Los Angeles on May 3-4, buoyed by their strong performance in Singapore, where they came heartbreakingly close to matching the achievement of their 2016 predecessors, who won the same tournament.
