Kenya Men’s Sevens secure spot in Tokyo 2020 Olympics

The second day of the 2019 Rugby Africa Men’s Sevens which was sponsored by Société Générale came to an end on Saturday and so did the tournament. The continental competition was hosted by the South African Rugby Union and organised by Rugby Africa (RugbyAfrique.com).

Kenya were crowned champions after securing a 29-0 victory over their neighbours Uganda in an entertaining final, while Zimbabwe finished third in the tournament. Uganda and Zimbabwe will both participate in a qualification tournament for the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and they also qualified for the Olympic repechage tournament which will be played in June next year.

The matches started at 09h00 on Saturday with Tunisia securing a 28-7 victory over Botswana. Morocco were up next with a 10-7 win against Ghana, while Nigeria succumbed to a 19-12 defeat to Zambia and Zimbabwe secured a hard-fought 15-12 victory over Madagascar in an enthralling match. Namibia then recorded a 38-19 win against Senegal, before Kenya defeated Uganda 24-7 in the East African Derby to wrap up the first round of games.

The defending champions Zimbabwe were defeated 21-12 by an impressive Uganda side in the first cup semi-final, while Kenya proved too strong for Madagascar in the second semi-final match as they won 40-14. Zimbabwe went on to secure a third-place finish after beating a stubborn Madagascar side 24-7 in an exciting match. Kenya were very dominant in the final as they clinched the trophy after thumping Uganda 29-0.