HSBC SVNS 2: 12 teams to begin World Championship dream in Nairobi

All 12 teams have arrived in Nairobi ahead of HSBC SVNS 2’s opening round in Kenya this weekend.

After their top two finishes in Dubai’s HSBC SVNS 3 event last month Argentina, Belgium, Canada and South Africa are ready to join the second tier competition this weekend in Kenya.

This weekend’s tournament at Nyayo National Stadium will kick-start the six-week, three continent tournament for teams as they aim to reach the HSBC SVNS World Championship.

South Africa, Spain and Argentina’s women are all keen to join their male counterparts, while Canada and the USA’s men hope to join their women’s teams. Kenya, Uruguay and Brazil’s men have all had recent experience on the HSBC SVNS Series and are keen on a return to the top table.

A quick start in Nairobi could go a long way to setting the wheels in motion for a top four finish and qualification for the HSBC SVNS World Championship events in Hong Kong, Valladolid and Bordeaux.

It will only be after stops in Montevideo and São Paulo that we know which teams will graduate to those two events.

“We’re going to play in front of our fans — we’ve been traveling with our fans all over the world, but now it’s a chance to play here in front of them,” Samuel Asati, Kenya’s captain, said. “For sure, we are not going to disappoint (them).

“Come Sunday, after the tournament, that will be the start of our journey back to Division One, and I hope we will have started quite well and set the tempo.”

“We are just trying to restore the standards that we had before, and I think we’re putting this programme in a good place, tournament by tournament,” Lockie Kratz, Canada’s captain, said.

“We want to start this one off in Kenya with a bang and then keep building on each tournament. We’re very fortunate to be here and we’re looking forward to it.”

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