Fresh from a 10th-place finish at the Perth 7s in Australia, the Kenya 7s national team (Shujaa) is aware of their opponents for the upcoming fourth leg of the HSBC World Rugby 7s Series, the Vancouver 7s, Canada, slated for Friday, February 21 to Sunday, February 23 in Canada.

Shujaa has been placed in a tough Pool A, where they will face Argentina, Paris Olympic champions France, and Great Britain.

This will not be the first time Kenya faces France. The two sides last met during the Dubai 7s opening pool match, where France emerged victorious 24-19 in a match that was decided in sudden death.

Argentina is also a familiar opponent for Shujaa. They last met on December 8 during the Cape Town 7s, with Kenya going down 14-26. Like France, Argentina will be keen for revenge.

 

Kenya’s rivalry with their final pool opponents, Great Britain, also dates back to the Cape Town 7s, where Shujaa defeated them 32-17 in the seventh-place playoff, finishing their campaign in seventh place.The team will be looking to extend their fine form.

 

In Australia, Shujaa started their pool matches with a 29-14 defeat to New Zealand before going down 21-14 to Fiji. They ended their pool campaign with a thrilling 19-5 victory over Uruguay, finishing in ninth place.

 

In the ninth-place semifinal, the determined Kenya 7s team defeated the USA 26-21 to set up a clash against the All Blacks.

 

Unfortunately, they went down 19-12 to the All Blacks, finishing in 10th place, a drop from their Cape Town 7s performance where they finished seventh.

 

Meanwhile, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and Ireland will face off in Pool B, which is arguably the tournament’s “pool of death.”

 

In Pool C, Spain, Fiji, Uruguay, and the USA will prove their mettle.