Kenya upsets Samoa at Commonwealth Games

Kenya made their case for the inclusion of the Safari Sevens as an I.R.B Sevens Circuit event, when at the Commonwealth Games they trounced Samoa 28-20 in their opening match.

The Kenyans won through their attacking flair and beat the Samoans at their own game, taking every opportunity to punch the ball into space and score.

Although their defense at times faltered, their offensive will and grit against the more seasoned Samoans saw them to the victory, with two tries apiece from new cap Dennis Mwanja in his first full sevens international and veteran Oscar Osir. Steve Gichuki converted all the tries.

Two hours later, Benjamin Ayimba and his team faced England, who were widely tipped for a medal, and led the match after Mitch Ocholla scored an equalizing try in the first half and Osir touched down for the lead before the half. Gichuki converted Osir's try.

In the second half, the Englishmen dug into their reserves of sevens skill and better understanding of the home conditions as England scored three tries to close the score at 33-12 despite a gallant fightback by Kenya.

In their last pool game against the Cook Islands, who themselves had proved a handful for both Samoa and England, Gichuki missed a sideline conversion of a Charles Cardovillis try that would have tied the game at full time for the final score to remain 14-12.

Samoa, Kenya and the Cook Islands were tied on five points, but the Samoans advanced to the quarterfinals by virtue of their better points against aggregate.

For more information about rugby in Kenya, check out Kenya Rugby.