History as Kenya sevens rule the world!
History was made on Sunday as Kenya Sevens rugby team thrashed heavyweights Fiji 30-7 in the finals of Singapore Sevens for their first ever Main Cup title in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
Collins Injera scored two of Kenya’s six unconverted tries to take his tries tally to 225, five short of all-time leader Santiago Gomez of Argentina.
The other try scorers for Kenya were Oscar Ayodi, Samuel Oliech, Nelson Oyoo and Franklin Wanyama.
With the victory, Kenya scooped a massive 22 points to take their tally to 85 points moving them one place up to seventh on the series standings.
It has taken Kenya 114 tournaments for Kenya to win the Cup but the wait was worth waiting for given that it was against the series leaders.
The last time Kenya was in the Cup final was in 2013, when the team was being coached by Englishman Mike Friday. Kenya narrowly lost that match 24-19 to England in Wellington.
Kenya’s record try scorer Injera praised his team-mates for the outstanding performance.
CONGRATULATORY MESSAGES
“I knew that was our only chance to advance into the final and I’m so happy we did it. We have achieved our target and I want to appreciate and congratulate the boys for a job well done, but I urge them to maintain the consistency,” said Injera.
Earlier on, Injera had sent Kenya to the finals with a last gasp penalty for a 15-12 win over Argentina in a nail-biting match.
Meanwhile, Shujaa’s deserved victory was well received by political leaders in Kenya led by President Uhuru Kenyatta who sent a congratulatory message to the team.
“A brilliant, confident and powerful effort has earned #TeamKenya a richly deserved #Singapore7s victory. Hongera. Way to go! #Kenya7s,” President Kenyatta tweeted.
Deputy President William Ruto also tweeted: “Congratulations #Kenya7s for making history by winning the first ever World Series Cup title at the 2016 #Singapore 7s.”
Cord leader Raila Odinga has also commended Shujaa for their historic display in the tournament.
“Outstanding performance by Kenya Sevens. Flying the Kenyan flag high and proud,” Raila said.
