Kenya remarkably held out against top-class opposition to end Saturday’s Day 1 at the Hamilton Sevens in New Zeland where they ended their Pool D undefeated and have secured a berth in Sunday’s quarterfinals.
In their opener, Kenya held the strong United States of America to a 19-all draw, and then went on to record wins over Canada and Samoa, each time with 19-14 margins on the back of three match winning tries in both the latter games.
Kenya will play Australia, last week’s winners in Sydney, in the quarterfinals. Australia suffered a surprise loss to Fiji in their opening game. Fiji was one of three teams to remain unbeaten on Saturday, along with New Zealand and South Africa.
Fellow Africans South Africa will play Scotland, the runners-up in Pool C, in their quarterfinal (Sunday, 2:42 SA time).
If both Kenya and South Africa win their quarterfinals, the Africans are scheduled to meet in the semifinals.
Quarterfinal draw: Fiji vs Samoa, New Zealand vs England, Kenya vs Australia, SA vs Scotland
