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Kenya Sevens returned to the World Series following a win over Germany in a tense playoff match in Madrid.
Kenya Sevens returned to the World Series at the first time of asking following a 33-15 victory over Germany in a tense playoff match in Madrid on Sunday.
Kenya stared off badly with their rivals going over the line but captain Vincent Onyala levelled matters before Tony Omondi converted to put them 7-5 ahead.
Shujaa were then reduced to six men when Chrisant Ojwang was sent to the sinbin for a high tackle. Germany use the opportunity to land a a corner post try but the conversion was unsuccessful.
Ojwang would return to put Kenya ahead but the conversion was unsuccessful for 12-10 in favour of Kevin Wambua’s men at halftime.
John Okoth then extended the lead with a try converted by Omondi for 19-10 but Germany reduced the arrears to 17-15 to set up a tense finish.
However, Kenya added further tries to secure a 33-15 finish to return to the big time in style.
Shujaa suffered relegation from the World Series last year after finishing 13th and had to contend with spells in the second tier Challenger Series in 2024.
They, however, did enough to secure a return, winning the opening leg in Dubai in January before third place in Montevideo in March, followed by fifth place in Munich in May.
It earned them a place into the promotion-relegation playoff in Madrid and after two victories and a loss, they had no margins for error against the Germans with a place in the World Series at stake.
Kenya had enjoyed 19 years uninterrupted as a core team but started losing their grip in 2022 before the inevitable happened the following year.
Following their World Series return, they will now focus on their preparations for the Olympics, having sealed their ticket to the Paris Games in their first assignment following the heartbreaking relegation.
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