Kenya 7s Team Qualify For Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Kenya men’s rugby sevens team, the Shujaa, on Saturday qualified for Tokyo 2020 Olympics after beating Uganda 31-0 in the final of the Africa qualifier played at Bosman Stadium in Johannesburg.

Tries from captain Andrew Amonde, Daniel Taabu, Oscar Dennis (2) and Jeff Oluoch were enough for Shujaas, who now join their women counterparts, the Lionesses, who punched the ticket to the quadrennial event last month.

Uganda now team up with Zimbabwe at the Repechage in June next year for another opportunity to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

The pair will also compete at next year’s World Sevens Series qualifier in Hong Kong where they will try to become core teams.

Uganda, who faced Shujaa’s lethal defence, failed to get a point against a side that beat them 24-7 in a Group B tie of the qualifiers on Saturday.

In the qualifying round, Kenya also beat Cote D’Ivoire 36-7 before dispatching Senegal 50-0 and Namibia 33-0 before meeting Madagascar in the semi-finals, whom they dispatched 40-14.

Shujaa coach Paul Feeney hailed his team’s astute defence and attack that saw them book their Olympics ticket for the second time in a row.

“The boys played very well. We had a plan of how we wanted to play in this tournament. The players worked very hard throughout the competition,” he said. “They trained for 11 weeks nonstop. So, I am very proud of them. We will take a break, then prepare for the 2019/20 World Rugby Sevens Series.”

A total of ten teams have now qualified for Tokyo 2020; Japan as hosts and four through the series, Fiji, USA, New Zealand and South Africa, while Great Britain, Argentina and Canada came through their respective regional qualification tournaments.

The other three slots will be filled by teams from Asia and Oceania regions as well as the Repechage tournament.

Photo Credit: Rugby Afrique