Paris 2024: Shujaa bow out of third straight Olympics without group stage win
25th July 2024
The national 7s side lost all their three matches in Pool B action in Paris.
- Shujaa lost to Argentina, Australia and Samoa in Pool B.
- The results meant that Shujaa are yet to win a group stage match in three Olympic events - Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.
- Shujaa will now fight for the positional playoff matches.
Shujaa’s dreams of finally ending their winless streak in
the group stages of an Olympic tournament remained just that as they were
handed a third straight loss in their final Pool B match at the ongoing Paris 2024
Olympic Games following a 26-0 defeat against Samoa on Thursday afternoon.
Having never won a group stage match in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, the men’s national team, who had qualified for Paris after stunning South Africa in the finals of the African qualifiers, had hoped to make history in their third Olympic Games.
However, resolute defending from the Samoans and two yellow cards never gave the Kenyans any hope of getting a win as they succumbed to a third straight defeat.
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Day one had seen the Kevin Wambua-coached side taste back-to-back defeats against Argentina and Australia who inflicted 31-12 and 21-7 losses respectively, leaving them with a must-win match if they were to have any hopes of going down the history book or making the last 8 in France.
Motu Opetai however ensured it was the Samoans who headed into the halftime break with a 5-0 lead following his unconverted try in the fourth minute.
In the second half, the Oceanic side made their man-advantage count as Paul Scanlan touched down with Faafoi Falaniko converting to extend their lead to 12-0. In that period, Kevin Wekesa was still in the sin bin having picked up a yellow card at the tail end of the first half.
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Another silly yellow card shown to Tony Omondi, who slightly kicked the ball in an attempt to obstruct the Samoans, would come to haunt Kenya as Apelu Maliko and Steve Onosai scored two late converted tries to settle the contest at 26-0.
The result left Kenya in last place in Pool B on 3 points. The team will now drop to the positional playoffs later on Thursday where they will play for bragging rights.
Playing Schedule
Wed - Argentina 31-12 Kenya
Wed - Australia 21-7 Kenya
Thur - Samoa 26-0 Kenya
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