Kenya bow out of World Cup

Kenya bowed out of Rugby World Cup Sevens contention after they lost 22-7 to Argentina, ending the African team campaign in the competition outside the hosts South Africa.

Earlier Zimbabwe and Uganda bowed out of the qualifying round after both lost their matches in early morning action.

Zimbabwe went down 33-7 to Canada in the second game of the day while Uganda went down 33-7 to the Samoan side coached by former 15s legend Brian Lima.

Kenya were hoping to shock the bigger teams with their play but ultimately paid the price for sub-par performances as they were outscored four tries to one and were the last African team outside the hosts to be eliminated.

Vincent Onyala scored the only try for Kenya as Argentina marched on and continued their quest as dark horses for the tournament.

Earlier Kenya beat Tonga 19-0 as they opened their account early through speedster Willie Ambaka, then followed it up with a first half try by captain Nelson Ooyo and then finished it off with a late try by Vincent Onyala to cap a successful start to the tournament.

Ooyo made a bold prediction before the tournament that Kenya were keen to shock the world and take home the World Cup.

“I think looking back from LA, we had a good tournament and we had good results, so we want to take the Cup home,” Ooyuu said.

Zimbabwe and Uganda will progress to the Bowl competitions on Saturday with candidates still to be named.