Kenya Sevens on Friday opened their Rugby World Cup battle with a superb win against Tonga.
Tonga’s Sosaia Tokai was tackled just short of the try-line but he reached out and grounded the ball over the white chalk, sending Tonga up 7-0 over the heavyweights Kenya in the fifth minute.
Nelson Oyoo went in over the try-line to score Kenya’s first five-pointer of the match in the seventh minute, before running to score his second try after Kenya took advantage of the mismatch in numbers after Tonga had a man sent to the bin for an offside play in the first spell. This sent Kenya ahead 12-7 in the tenth minute.
On the twelveth minute, the match turned more against Tonga as Collins Injera broke Tonga’s spirit as he strolled over to score under the goal posts for Kenya. Just as it looked like Tonga were going to score down the other end, Kenya marched back into Tonga’s half to score the important and final try of the match.
Final score: Kenya 19 Tonga 7.
Kenya’s win against the Pacific Islanders now sends them to face World Series regulars Scotland in another tricky round of 16 duel tonight (Friday 10:03 ET).
A win against Scotland will see Innocent Simiyu’s charges setting up a quarter-final showdown against world series champions South Africa on Sunday.
