Shujaa relegated after a 20-year stint in World Sevens Series

 

Shujaa's 20-year stint in the World Seven Series came down tumbling after losing 12-7 to Canada in the relegation playoff final at Twickenham Stadium in London.

It was sweet revenge for the Canadians, who had lost to Kenya 24-19 in the pool stages on Saturday. Kenya opened the scoring courtesy of skipper Nelson Oyoo with Tony Omondi converting for a 7-0 lead.

The North Americans fought back and leveled matters just before halftime with Josiah Morra touching down and Brock Webstar skirting home the conversion to tie the match at 7-7 at the interval.

On resumption, both sides were evenly matched and it took a moment of sublime skill from Alex Russell to end Kenya's core status in the final minute with an unconverted try.

Kenya had earlier beaten Tonga 38-26 and lost 14-10 to Uruguay to finish second in the pool behind Canada.

Shujaa now will concentrate on the African Sevens in Zimbabwe to try and qualify for the Paris Olympics next year as well as the Challenger series next year in April.