Kenya Sevens’ Shujaa final journey to salvage their fortunes in their World Rugby Sevens Series starts on Friday when they face Uruguay in Pool “A” of their opening duel at France Sevens in Toulouse.
Shujaa take on the Uruguayans at 4.07pm at Stade ERnest-Wallon before facing World Rugby Sevens Series leaders New Zealand at 7.16pm.
Having all to play for, Shujaa will wrap up their preliminary outing against Canada on Saturday at 3.21pm.
Realistically, Kenya who are currently placed 13th in the Series with 37 points, have minimal chances of finishing in top 11 so as to avoid the relegation play-off.
Either Uruguay or Spain, who are placed 11th and 12th with 49 and 48 points respectively, have the best opportunity to finish 11th after Toulouse.
Shujaa can only pray that they reach the main Cup semi-finals in Toulouse with the hopes that both Uruguay and Spain finish last so as to qualify and avoid relegation play-off.
Spain face Argentina, Great Britain and Germany in Pool “B” in Toulouse.
Shujaa’s last chance to avoid relegation is at the play-off due for London Sevens where Kenya will face either Spain or Uruguay, Canada and Tonga, who are fresh from winning the 2023 Challenger Series.
The relegation play-off will be played in round-robin format with the top two teams meeting in the final.
The winner will become the 12th core team in the 2024 Series.
“This is the most favourable pooling we have this season and if we can’t succeed in Toulouse, then we have another chance in London where it will be a do-or-die situation for us,” said Kenya Sevens head coach Damian McGrath.
McGrath warned that they can’t ignore Toulouse and focus on the relegation play-off, saying that it is a stage where injuries can change everything.
The men’s Series has seen five different winners – Australia, Samoa, South Africa, Argentina and New Zealand – through the opening nine tournaments.
New Zealand became the first nation other than hosts France to secure their Paris 2024 Olympic spot in Singapore, and the three remaining spots will be filled over the next two weekends.
Argentina can officially qualify this weekend by making the Cup semi-finals, while Fiji can secure their spot by winning the Cup title.
Kenya can only hope South Africa, who are placed seventh with 106 points, finish in the top four and automatically qualify for 2024 Paris Olympics.
That means that South Africa must reach the semi-finals in Toulouse and London to have a chance of making it to France and avoid the African qualifiers.
