The 2018 Safari 7s champions Samurai suffered defeat at the hands of Kenya Shujaa in the Main Cup Quarterfinal during the 2019 edition of the prestigious tournament on a bright Sunday morning at RFUEA Grounds in Nairobi.
A tight contest in the match saw the Kenya Shujaa steered by high-towering Andrew Amonde take a commanding 19-07 lead at halftime courtesy of tries from Nelson Oyoo, Amonde and Michael Okello with extras added off Daniel Tabu’s boot.
Samurai were resilient in the second half to pull one try through after several phases of possession from deep in their territory that brought the match to a slim 3-point margin with under 3 minutes to play.
A strong defence for the majority of the second half was all the Shujaa needed to ensure they matched on to the semifinal and maintain their flawless campaign to the 2019 title, and add to a fourth title to their tally, the most recent being in 2016.
Samurai have been a shadow of themselves in this year’s tournament despite topping Pool B, losing one of their matches to international outfit Red Wailers by a surprising 19-05 result. There was no opportunity to redeem themselves on day two against a high-flying Shujaa side in the main cup quarterfinal.
Shujaa will face another massive test in the main cup semifinal against South Africa’s Blitzboks who outclassed Kenya 7s and Kenya Cup champions KCB by 31-14 in the first quarterfinal.
Main Cup Semifinal Fixtures
- SF1: South Africa vs Kenya Shujaa
- SF2: Kenya Morans vs Russia Academy