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Photo : Johnstone Olindi in action against Argentina. | Source Ferugby.
SHUJAA FINISH SECOND IN MADRID
The Kenya sevens rugby team lost 21-14 to Argentina in the first Madrid sevens cup to finish second off a heated Madrid Cup finals at the Campo central grounds in Madrid.
The cup final was the second time Shujaa met Argentina in the tournament, the first encounter Shujaa blew away a half time 7-7 stalemate to lose 21-7 while the second Shujaa was poised to win the match but a half time sinbin, a knock on by Shujaa at the close of the opener half, two defensive errors left the Pumas to crack two converted whips for the win. Third try by the Pumas is however debatable as the first receiver knocked the ball on reception but no penalty was given to Kenya.
Coach Innocent Namcos Simiyu is however happy with Shujaa performance “We are happy with the boys effort, we were still rusty from not playing in a while but we are very impressed with the commitment and will to win matches. We will be reviewing the games and hopefully improve on our performance,” Shujaa head coach Told People Daily Sports from Madrid, Spain after whitewashing USA 38-7 in a one sided match.
The second meeting-cum the cup finals saw Kenya sevens kick off on a low after Co-captain Nelson Oyoo was sent to the bin to give the Pumas a one man advantage to score a converted try for a 7-0 lead but the brave skipper returned to redeem his name with a leveler converted by Tony Omondi. At the restart Shujaa left a gap for Argentina forward to feed off a shot to score without a chase but that was cancelled out by Alvin Buffa Otieno who scored a centre post try converted by Tony Omondi for a 14-14 stalemate.
On restart, the centre referee left Argentina to play on at the reception of the ball unlike a knock on call expected by Shujaa players and fans that followed through the match, the Pumas went ahead to score the decisive try for a 21-14 win.
Earlier on Kenya had shell-shocked coach Mike Friday Charges 38-7 in a match Perry Baker picked an injury.
Kenya had won three consecutive matches against Portugal (36-5), Spain (19-5) and USA (38-7) before meeting Argentina twice.
Shujaa run in Madrid
Shujaa 36-5 Portugal
Shujaa 19-5 Spain
Shujaa 38-7 USA
Shujaa 7-21 Argentina
Cup finals – Sunday 8.02pm
Shujaa 14-21 Argentina