The Kenya Sevens rugby team went all the way to the final at the Singapore Sevens event, allowing them to win their first ever World Series title with a stunning victory over Fiji in the decider.
A surprise 30-7 win in favour of the East Africans earned them the respect of the rugby world, and their maiden competition win on the tour which spans the globe.
Fiji defeated South Africa 26-21 with a late try in the semi-finals of the competition to progress to the final, but the Kenyans would return pride to Africa with an excellent victory over the islanders.
Kenya’s semi-final saw them scrape through in the last seconds with Collins Injera scoring a wonderful 40-metre drop goal penalty after the siren for a 15-12 win over Argentina.
The Kenya Sevens side did fantastically well to reach the final, having reached the same stage without success in two previous tournaments, but were not expected to better the Fijians, who are giants of the sevens game on the world stage.
The East Africans scored four unanswered tries in the first half of the final, with Injera dotting down two of those. Oscar Ayodi touched down in the first minute to secure an excellent start for the Kenyans, with Samuel Oliech scoring the other first half try, earning a commanding 20-0 half time lead.
They would go on to add two more in the second half, with the Pacific Islanders scoring a single consolation try from Jerry Tuwai. The two second half tries for Kenya came courtesy of replacements Nelson Oyoo and Frank Wanyama, ensuring that the whole squad contributed to a historic moment for the team.
Fiji were favourites to win the final at Singapore’s National Stadium following their tournament victory in Hong Kong a week ago, but the Kenya Sevens squad played their best rugby to seal the win.
