Kenya celebrate their Qualification for the Olympics in Rio in 2016
The Australian mens Sevens team as well as the Kenyan mens Sevens teams both qualified on the weekend for the Olympics Sevens event in Rio in 2016.
On the womens side, Fiji Womens Sevens also qualified for the womens event at Rio 2016.
Kenya wins Africa Regional Qualifier in Kempton Park:
Kenya are on their way to Rio de Janeiro to compete in the Rugby Sevens event at the 2016 Olympic Games, after a thrilling win over Zimbabwe in the final of the African Regional Qualifier in Kempton Park.
Dennis Ombachi popped up with a last minute try, just as Kenya looked dead and buried with time on the clock virtually finished, racing 65m and fending off a would-be tackler on his way to the line.
Captain Andrew Amonde scored Kenya’s 1st points, touching down with Eden Agero converting for a 7 / 0 lead but the Zimbabwe Cheetahs were never out of touch, taking the game to their more illustrious opponents, and scoring 2 tries and a conversion for a deserved 12 / 7 halftime lead.
It remained tense upon the restart, Zimbabwe looking the more potent side as they rattled Kenya at the breakdown.
Collins Injera scored and converted against the run of play to put Kenya 14 / 12 up but when Zimbabwe replied with a 3rd try and conversion, it seemed that the Olympic ticket would be theirs for the taking.
Kenya refused to give up on their dream though, and Ombachi, who scored a 1st half hat-trick against Madagascar earlier in the day, produced his moment of magic to deny the Zimbabwe Cheetahs and send his side through instead.
HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series core team Kenya had lived up to their tag as tournament favourites on Day 1, a combination of power and raw pace seeing them to 3 straight victories against Mauritius, Senegal and Madagascar, scoring 123 points with only 5 conceded.
Zimbabwe also showed their class with a series of solid performances, which earned them a 31 / 12 victory against Nigeria, a 48 / 0 win against Zambia and a 43 / 0 win against Uganda.
Namibia, meanwhile, kicked off their campaign with a 24 / 21 victory against Morocco, and then beat Botswana 33 / 0 and Tunisia 45 / 10.
In Sunday’s Cup quarterfinals, Kenya prevailed 41 / 0 against Madagascar and Zimbabwe beat Nigeria 29 / 10. Namibia, however, came unstuck after losing 22 / 15 to Morocco. Tunisia edged Uganda 19 / 14 in the other quarterfinal to book a semifinal meeting with Kenya.
Frank Wanyama capped a fine performance with 2 tries as Kenya easily disposed of Tunisia 42 / 12 while Zimbabwe accounted for Morocco in the other semi.
Morocco bounced back to beat Tunisia in the 3rd place play-off, with both sides going forward to join runners-up Zimbabwe in competing at next year’s World Rugby global Olympic repechage tournament.
Africa Olympic Sevens Qualifier play-off results:
- 11th / 12th: Zambia 14 / 26 Botswana
- 9th / 10th: Mauritius 40 / 5 Senegal
- 7th / 8th: Uganda 27 / 7 Nigeria
- 5th / 6th Namibia 24 / 17 Madagascar
- 3rd / 4th: Morocco 19 / 12 Tunisia
- Final: Kenya 21 / 17 Zimbabwe
Australian men & Fiji women win Oceania titles:
Australia men and Fiji women both won their respective Oceania Sevens titles and were rewarded with places at the 2016 Olympic Games rugby sevens tournament in Rio de Janeiro.
Both teams remained unbeaten over the weekend and were clearly the best teams in their respective events as the scores in the finals suggest. Australia beat Tonga 50 / 0 in their final while Fijiana overcame Samoa 55 / 0.
Australia Too Strong:
Under interim coach Tim Walsh Australia were superb over the 2-day tournament. Aggressive at the breakdown and clinical at the restarts and with ball in open play they scored 138 points in their 3 matches on finals day and conceded no tries or points.
Stand-out players were skipper Ed Jenkins, Greg Jeloudev and Tom Cusack along with Jesse Parahi who was playing his last Sevens event before taking up a Super Rugby contract. Attracting much attention also was 18-year-old newcomer Henry Hutchison whose pace and footwork marks him as a star of the future.
“After the disappointment of not qualifying through the World Series in London we have put in 5 months of preparation. We knew we had the chance to qualify but we lost our coach recently and credit to Tim Walsh the women’s coach who stepped in and has got us to this point and winning the event,” declared Australian captain Ed Jenkins.
“Now that we have qualified we can start to think properly about Rio. We can now plan the coming season that starts in Dubai soon but it is exciting times for Sevens in Australia. One thing for sure the Rio tournament is going to be very tough but to be a part of it is tremendous for the team.”
The surprise of the day was Tonga men who easily beat Samoa in the semifinals 41 / 5. It was an impressive performance from Tonga and just reward for a team whose form continued to build and improve as the tournament went on. 2nd Place sees them qualify for the final World Rugby Olympic Repechage Tournament in 2016.
For Samoa, who had looked like a real threat to Australia after Day 1, it was their worst performance of the weekend. Some consolation is the fact that by beating Papua New Guinea in the 3rd place play-off they will join Tonga in the 2016 Repechage. Either Tonga or Samoa could easily still end up in Rio de Janeiro.
Fijiana continue to rise:
The Fijian women were the shining stars of their tournament and had pace, physicality and patterns of play that were too sophisticated for their opponents. Fijiana beat Papua New Guinea 43 / 0 in their last pool match on Day 2 before beating the same opposition 58 / 0 in the semifinal.
Starring for Fijiana were Rebecca Tavo, Litia Naiqato and the dominating presence around the field of Rusila Nagasau who scored 4 tries in the final.
“Firstly we have to thank all our supporters and of course our coaches who really believed in us. We worked really hard over the last 8 weeks at home to get here and we are very happy,” said delighted Fijiana captain Anna Maria Roquica.
“We are so pleased to qualify for the Olympics but we know we have to improve our fitness and skills further. Importantly we have to keep believing in ourselves.”
Samoa showed great promise and have improved markedly and by finishing 2nd won a spot in the women’s World Rugby Olympic Repechage Tournament in 2016. Joining them courtesy of beating Papua New Guinea in the 3rd place play-off will be a delighted Cook Islands who were the surprise package of the women’s tournament.
Men’s finals results:
- 7th Place play-off: American Samoa 33 / 12 Nauru
- 5th Place play-off: Solomon Islands 14 / 17 Cook Islands
- 3rd Place play-off: Samoa 54 / 0 Papua New Guinea
- Final: Australia 50 / 0 Tonga
Women’s finals results:
- 3rd Place play-off: Cook Islands 32 / 0 Papua New Guinea
- Final: Fiji 55 / 0 Samoa