Kenya Sevens’ Paris Olympics campaign began on a disappointing note with a 31-12 defeat against a formidable Argentine side on Wednesday at the iconic Stade de France in Paris.
Despite a promising start, the Shujaa were unable to maintain their momentum, ultimately succumbing to the South Americans in a match that highlighted both their potential and their areas of vulnerability.
The match kicked off with Kenya displaying early promise. Chrisant Ojwang ignited the Kenyan fans’ hopes by breaking the deadlock in the fifth minute.
Off a scrum, Anthony Omondi expertly offloaded the ball to Ojwang, who deftly turned the Argentine defense inside out to cross the try line. Omondi’s successful conversion pushed Kenya into a 7-0 lead, setting a hopeful tone for the encounter.
However, Argentina soon demonstrated their resilience. Agustin Fraga managed to pull back a try for the South Americans, although the conversion was missed, leaving Kenya with a slim 7-5 lead at halftime.
The Shujaa had shown flashes of brilliance but were aware that a tougher second half awaited them.
The second half began disastrously for Kenya as Argentina struck back immediately from Kenya’s kickoff. Fraga once again proved to be a thorn in Kenya’s side, scoring his second try of the match, which was duly converted by Pellandini Joaquin, propelling Argentina to a 12-7 lead.
Kenya’s response was swift and skillful; captain Vincent Onyala intercepted an Argentine pass and initiated a fluid movement, which saw Patrick Odongo pass to Kevin Wekesa, who bulldozed his way over the try line to level the scores at 12-12.
Unfortunately for Kenya, their joy was short-lived. Argentina’s Elizalde Tomas capitalized on a lapse in Kenya’s defense to score a third try, with Joaquin adding the extras for a 19-12 advantage.
The South Americans continued to exploit Kenya’s weaknesses, particularly in their kick-off strategies. Luciano Gonzalez, coming off the bench, extended Argentina’s lead to 26-12 following Mare Santiago’s successful conversion. In the dying moments, substitute Marcos Moneta sealed Argentina’s victory with an unconverted try in the corner, concluding the match at 31-12.
The defeat highlighted critical areas where Kenya fell short. Their kick-off strategy was notably ineffective, with Argentina winning all their restarts, denying Kenya crucial possession. Moreover, Kenya’s ruck play was subpar, allowing the South Americans to dominate and turn over possession at will.
Kenya’s defeat to Argentina places them in a challenging position in Group B, which includes strong contenders Australia and Samoa. Australia began their campaign with a 21-14 victory over Samoa, adding to the pressure on Kenya to secure victories in their remaining group matches to progress to the quarter-finals.
The tournament format sees teams divided into three groups of four. The top two teams from each group, along with the two best third-placed teams, will advance to the quarter-finals.
Winners of the quarter-finals will move on to the semi-finals, while the losers will compete for third place. The teams eliminated in the quarter-finals will also engage in a mini-tournament to determine the 5-8 places.
Meanwhile, the worst third-placed team and the last three teams in the group will compete for the 9-12 place matches.
