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The 28th iteration of the Safari Sevens saw a near-capacity crowd at the Nyayo National Stadium enjoy some of the best sevens rugby Africa has to offer on Sunday, with Kenya national men’s and women’s teams who took top honors at the end of the day.
In a unique situation in the men’s tournament, the final came down to a Kenyan affair, with Shujaa defeating Kenyan development side Moranse 24-5 to win their sixth straight title.
Shujaa had to work hard to reach the final, drawing 21 with South African side Forward Legends in the first round, before they pulled away with a win over Scotland and Uganda.
The team, however, flexed its muscles with wins over invitational teams Wonder 7s and French Renegades in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively.
The Morans defeated Gel Squad 7s and Wonder 7s in the pool stages, surviving a 12-round draw with Zimbabwe to qualify for the finals, where they defeated the Forward Legends before defeating the invitational Shogun 7s 31-10 to advance to the finals.
The Morani put up plenty of resistance and Shujaa star Samuel Asati sent in a bucket in the first minute to put the favorites on the back foot.
The Morans were however unable to capitalize on the one man advantage thanks to some big defensive plays, but Shujaa, the sides go into half time 0-all.
However, when Asati returned, Shujaa took control, with tries from Rayvon Ambale, Victor Mola, Festus Shiasi and John Okoth to put the defending champions over the line, while Harrison Mauve earned a consolation try for the Morans.
The French Renegades finished with the bronze medal, defeating Shogun 17-15 in the third-place playoff.
In the women’s tournament, several international teams pushed deep, with defending champions the Lionesses facing strong opposition as Tunisia and Uganda, where both sides beat South Africa’s Tuks Women, alongside Kenyan development sides Junior Lionesses and Kenya Cubs.
Tunisia would end up missing out on the final with a 19-17 loss to the Lionesses, but their strong form proved enough to win the bronze medal, a significant result for their women’s rugby program.
With Uganda having not met the Lionesses in the regular round, the stage was set for a tight final – but the Lionesses showed their class in the end, surviving pressure from the Lady Cranes to pull away and win 22-5.
The result saw the Lionesses win back-to-back Safari Sevens titles for the first time ever.
