Kenya national rugby sevens team
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The Kenya national rugby sevens team competes in the World Rugby Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games. Kenya recorded its first tournament win in the World Rugby Sevens Series after beating Fiji at the 2016 Singapore Sevens.[3] Kenya has also been successful in the Rugby World Cup Sevens, reaching the semifinals in 2009 and again in 2013.[citation needed]
 | |
| Union | Kenya Rugby Union |
|---|---|
| Emblem(s) | The African lion |
| Coach(es) | Kevin Wambu |
| Captain(s) | Vincent Onyala |
| Most caps | Collins Injera (79) |
| Top scorer | Collins Injera (1,443)[1] |
| Most tries | Collins Injera (279)[2] |
|
Team kit | |
| World Cup Sevens | |
| Appearances | 6 (First in 2001) |
| Best result | 3rd place (2009) |
| Official website | |
| www | |
The Kenya Sevens team is sometimes referred to by the Kenyan and international press as Shujaa,[4] a Swahili word meaning courage, confidence, bravery, or heroism. The Kenya national rugby sevens team is one of the more successful sporting teams representing Kenya. They have won the men's Team of the Year category six times at the Kenyan Sports Personality of the Year Awards: 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009,[5][6] 2013, and 2016.
Kenya won the first round of the 2024 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series in Dubai.[7][8] They were runners-up in the overall series and qualified for the SVNS promotion and relegation play-off competition at the 2024 Spain Sevens.[9][10]
- Main Cup winners at the 2016 Singapore Sevens
- Main cup finalists at the
World Rugby Sevens Series
Kenya has competed in the World Series every year since the competition's inception in 1999–2000. Kenya's best season came in 2012–13 when they finished fifth in the Series. Collins Injera and Humphrey Kayange were both nominated for World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year in 2009, but lost to England's Ollie Phillips.
Summer Olympic Games
Rugby World Cup Sevens
| World Cup record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament | Round | Position | Played | Won | Lost | Drew | Most tries |
| 1993 | Did not qualify | ||||||
| 1997 | |||||||
| 2001 | Bowl Semifinals | =19th | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2005 | Bowl Semifinals | =19th | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | Lucas Onyango (6) |
| 2009 | Semifinals | =3rd | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | Collins Injera (5) |
| 2013 | Semifinals | 4th | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | Humphrey Kayange (6) |
| 2018 | Challenge quarterfinals | 16th | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | Jeffrey Oluoch (4) |
| 2022 | 11th Place Final | 12th | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | Vincent Onyala (4) |
| Total | 0 Titles | 6/8 | 34 | 13 | 21 | 0 | C. Injera & H. Kayange (9) |
| Commonwealth record | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | L | D |
| 1998 | Bowl Quarterfinals | 13th | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2002 | Bowl Semifinals | 11th | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 2006 | Bowl Champions | 9th | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 2010 | Plate Semifinals | 7th | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 2014 | Plate Semifinals | 7th | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 2018 | Placement round | 8th | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 2022 | Placement round | =7th | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 0 Titles | 7/7 | 35 | 15 | 20 | 0 |
| Africa Men's Sevens record | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | L | D |
| 2000 | Finals | 2nd | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 2004 | Champions | 1st | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | Champions | 1st | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | Did Not Compete | |||||
| 2013 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | Finals | 2nd | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 2015 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | Semifinals | 3rd | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 2017 | Did Not Compete | |||||
| 2018 | Finals | 2nd | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | Semifinals | 3rd | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 2023 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 6 Titles | 11/13 | 63 | 55 | 8 | 0 |
Kenya has won the Safari Sevens ten times:
- 1997 versus Cumbria Schoolboys 24–27,
- 2000 Kenya 'A' (Shujaa) won, defeating Bristol University RFC, 26–24
- 2003 versus Emerging Springboks 29–7,
- 2004 versus Emerging Springboks 10–7,
- 2008 versus Zimbabwe 35–12,
- 2009 versus Emerging Springboks 40–19,
- 2010 versus Emerging Springboks 17–12,
- 2014 versus Australia Renegades 40–7,
- 2016 versus Samurai International 38–21
- 2019 versus Springbok Sevens 19–12.
The following team was announced as the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens sevens team.[11][12]
Head coach: Damian McGrath
The following refers to statistics generated in the World Rugby Sevens Series. Players in bold are still active. Collins Injera was briefly ranked the #1 player in the world in tries scored, until his try-scoring record was surpassed by England's Dan Norton.
The following Kenya Sevens players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2004:[17]
- ^ "Points: Kenya". Retrieved 17 December 2017.
- ^ "Try Stats: Kenya". Retrieved 17 December 2017.
- ^ "Kenya Sevens make history". Retrieved 19 April 2016.
- ^ "Shujaa finish bottom in Dubai 7s", Daily Nation, 1 December 2018.
- ^ "SOYA Awards – 2007 winners!". Archived from the original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
- ^ KBC, 24 January 2009: Jelimo and Wanjiru crowned best sports personalities[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Sevens captains ready for the challenge in Dubai". www.world.rugby. 10 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ "China and Kenya celebrate Challenger 2024 success in Dubai". www.world.rugby. 14 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ "China women and Uruguay men win World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2024". www.world.rugby. 19 May 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ "Uruguay, Kenya, Chile and Germany qualify for men's HSBC SVNS Play-Off in Madrid". www.world.rugby. 19 May 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ Collins, Amanga (2 September 2022). "Kenya Sevens squad for 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens". www.pd.co.ke. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
- ^ Njuguna, William (3 September 2022). "Injera recalled to Shujaa squad ahead of Rugby World Cup Sevens". The Star. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
- ^ "Simiyu names RWC Sevens squad". Kenya Rugby Union. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- ^ World Rugby statistics, current as of 15 March 2020
- ^ World Rugby statistics, current as of 15 March 2020
- ^ World Rugby statistics, current as of 15 March 2020
- ^ "Awards Roll of Honour - World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 16 March 2024.