The safari sevens made a comeback after 2 years of a hiatus break on the weekend of Friday 17th November, 2023 to Sunday 19th November 2023 at the RFUEA grounds in Nairobi Kenya. The inaugural day one of the Safari Sevens rugby tournament proved to be a resounding success, leaving fans who attended thrilled and amazed by the gripping displays of skill and athleticism. A total of 15 teams participated in this year’s Safari 7s, 10 men’s teams namely Shujaa, Morans, Uganda, Samurai, Germany, Red Wailers, Tropic 7s, KCB Rugby, Western Province and SA All Stars. 5 women’s teams namely Lionesses 1&2, Uganda, Tuks Women and Tropic 7s.
Day 1
Hosts Kenya Shujaa (men’s team) dominated the day, clinching victory in all their games – beating SA All Stars 36-0 in game, Uganda 17-5 and Tropic 7s 33-5 -, setting the stage for an even more exciting spectacle on day two. Kenya Lionesses (women’s team) also asserted their dominance on the rugby field, securing victories in all their games – beating Tuks 52-0 and Uganda 12-5.
Other results are as follows.
Uganda 38-0Tropic 7s, Red Wailers 14 – 12 Tropic 7s, Uganda 35 – 0 SA All Stars, Morans 24-0 Western Province, SAMURAI 17- 5, KCB, Cubs 32-0 Tuks, Red Wailers 10 – 32 Uganda, Germany 33-17 KCB, Morans 14-12 SAMURAI, Tuks 7-24 Tropic 7s, SA All Stars 12-17 Tropic 7s, SAMURAI 15-12 Germany, KCB 17-7 Western Province, Tuks 0-41 Uganda, SA All Stars 12-19 Red Wailers, Tropic 7s 0-36 CUBS, Morans 7-22 KCB, Germany 26-0 Western Province.
Day 2
Day two was nothing less of a success and spectacular as more fans turned out in large numbers to cheer for their teams. The atmosphere was electric showcasing the zeal from both the players and the fans. The last round of the group stage matches were played and the results were as follows:
TROPIC 7S 7-33 UGANDA, SHUJAA 34- 7 RED WAILERS, WESTERN PROVINCE 5-28 SAMURAI, GERMANY 17- MORANS 14, TROPIC 7S 00- 36 LIONESSES, CUBS 5 -00 UGANDA.
Road to Finals.
Men’s
The next round was the main cup semis and the first semi was between Samurai and Uganda which saw Samurai beat Uganda in a closely contested battle that ended 21-19 earning them a spot in the finals. The second semi final was between hosts Shujaa and Germany where Shujaa put up a spirited fight edging out Germany 19-5 booking their spot in the finals.
The fifth place semis followed suit where Kenya Morans battled it out with tropic 7s which ended with Kenya Morans emerging victorious 26-10.In the second semi Red Wailers took on KCB where KCB won 29-14. The two teams KCB and MORANS would later battle it out in the fifth place finals where Morans put up a spirited fight thrashing KCB 26-00.
Other games included, the ninth place finals between SA all stars and Western Province where SA all stars emerged victors after a 28-21. Tropic 7s and Red Wailers where Red Wailers beat Tropic 7s 24-10.
Women’s.
Women`s semi finals saw the Kenya Lionesses and Tropic 7s battle out where Lionesses thrashed Tropic 7s 40-0 to secure a spot in the finals. Uganda beat the Cubs 5-0 to secure a spot in the finals.
Finals.
The finals began with the women`s category where the contest was between Hosts Kenya Lionesses and neighboring Uganda Lady Cranes. The game ended 15-12 in favor of the Uganda Lady Cranes. Uganda lady cranes were crowned the 2023 Safari sevens women`s category champions. In the men’s finals Hosts Shujaa took on Samurai. Shujaa gave the home crowd a thrilling experience that left all the fans on their feet cheering on the team. Shujaa beat their opponents 19-00 to be crowned the 2023 Safari sevens champions.