Kenya march on to semifinals of Challenge Cup

Kenya marched on to the semifinals of the Challenge Cup at the Rugby World Cup Sevens with an impressive 24-5 win over Scotland in their first game on day two.

Tries by Billy Odhiambo, Nelson Ooyuu, Herman Humwa and Vincent Onyala were enough to see the Shujaa home after their disappointment on day one of the competition.

Odhiambo was overjoyed that the team could get the win, especially given their loss on day one.

"After a disappointing game against Argentina yesterday we were pleased to get the win. We stuck to our plan and held onto the ball, and the team that controls possession controls the game and with pressure comes points. That went really well for us. Piling on points in the first half really eased the pressure so we were more relaxed when playing and managed to execute a few plays," he said.

Earlier Uganda hit a high note as they won their opening Bowl quarterfinal on day two of the Rugby World Cup Sevens by beating Korea 12-0.

Captain Phillip Wokorach and Norbert Okeny both scored tries as the Ugandans and their small but boisterous group of fans were overjoyed by the impressive start to the day.

Wokorach was understandably happy at the team’s performance after their disappointment against Samoa on day one.

"After yesterday’s disappointing start against Samoa, I think the boys had to pick themselves up. We just said to go and play to the structure and stick to our game plan and it worked out very well for us and we got a much-needed win against South Korea," he said.

He said that the fans supporting the team had made the difference.

"It is amazing because the fans are out there supporting Uganda in good numbers and the ambience in the stadium is quite amazing. We are happy to be in Africa and play at this World Cup."

He believed that the team would improve on their 19th place finish in San Francisco in 2018

"Our target was to improve on where we finished in 2018 and I think we are hitting that target because the last time we lost our first game on day two and this time around we won it, so we can go out and get a better position this year."

Zimbabwe’s day two started on a disappointing note as they lost 28-0 to Hong Kong in a match where the scoreline was a lot closer than it suggests. Zimbabwe came close a number of times but their finishing let them down.

They then were pipped 21-19 by Korea after fighting back hard in the second half.

In the Women’s Challenge competition, Madagascar put up a brave performance but went down 12-0 to Spain.