Kenya signal statement of intent with 2026 Mauritius Sevens victory

Kenya have claimed a major victory as they chase for HSBC SVNS Series qualification, claiming the 2026 Mauritius Sevens title in Cascaville in the opening weekend of October.

Coming up against significant competition, the Shujaa overcame the 2025 champions Madagascar 15-12, the match going to extra time to find a winner.

The defending champions started the final with a try in the corner to Jean Marc Raoelinirina, but the Kenyans struck back through tries to Gabriel Ayimba and Ray Ambale to take the lead.

However, Rado Randrianalisona scored a valuable second try for the Madagascans, seeing the scoreline sitting at 12-all at fulltime.

However, the 2025 champions, the only side in the men’s tournament undefeated before the final, struggled with their discipline, with Glacious Nganya converting a last-minute penalty in extra time to give Shujaa a crucial three-point lead, which would be enough.

South Africa would claim third place in the men’s competition, defeating Burkina Faso 24-14, but the rainbow nation would find more success in the women’s competition, the Tuks Women representative side defeating hosts Mauritius 22-10 in the women’s final.

In a promising result for the women’s game, Morocco finished with the bronze medal, defeating Réunion 21-0 in the third place play-off.

In other results, Réunion’s men’s side claimed victories over Mauritius and Namibia, while the hosts also had a strong tournament in both the men’s and women’s game, the former defeating Egypt and Réunion in the playoffs, with the latter making the women’s grand final.

The day however belonged to the Kenyans, stunning the world champion Blitzboks 15-0 in the semi-finals to qualify for the final – a result that shows huge promise as the Shujaa have one eye on qualification for the 2026-27 SVNS Series.

Currently locked into the SVNS 2 level of the tournament, Kenya qualified for the SVNS World Championship earlier in the year, nearly upsetting the Blitzboks at the Hong Kong Sevens before going down in the quarterfinals 26-22.

However, despite strong form in Hong Kong and Valladolid, the Shujaa fell away at the final hurdle in Bordeaux, finishing in eleventh on the table, with the United States finishing one competition point above them to qualify for the 2026-27 SVNS Series.

The result in Cascaville will serve as a valuable pre-season step towards qualification for the Shujaa, as well the South African women’s sevens program with the Tuks Women’s victory, the Blazeboks also qualifying for the SVNS World Championship last year after moving up from SVNS 3.

The women’s side finished in last in the World Championship, however it proved a year of enormous growth, as momentum around the women’s side of the game in South Africa continues to grow.

Both the Shujaa and the Tuks Women will now head to Nairobi for this weekend’s Safari Sevens, with a result in the tournament’s 30th anniversary a significant one in both sides’ respective seasons.

The Tuks Women are expected to face significant opposition in Tunisia, Uganda, and three clubs from the Kenya national program, while the Shujaa will be up against the likes of recent SVNS 3 qualifiers Zimbabwe, Uganda and the Scottish national sevens side.