Kenya's captains ready for SVNS 2 to start on home soil

Kenya sevens captains Samuel Asati and Sheila Chajira are hotly anticipating playing the first HSBC SVNS 2 event of the season in front of a home crowd.

Nairobi will be the first leg of the second division competition, which also has events in Montevideo and Sao Paulo.

Between 14-15 February all 12 teams will be on the lookout for a strong start, with a top four finish at the end of March securing a place at the HSBC SVNS World Championship events in Hong Kong, Valladolid and Bordeaux.

Kenya’s women will compete with China, Spain, Brazil, Argentina and South Africa, while the men’s side are joined by the USA, Germany, Uruguay, Canada and Belgium.

Last season Kenya’s men were relegated from core team status. This was despite a runners-up finish in Singapore, where the Shujaa stunned the world.

“The good thing about this tournament is that it’s round-robin and we’ve played against almost all these teams,” Samuel Asati told Citizen Digital. “If we focus on ourselves, our structure and play our cards right, we shall have it.

“The opening leg will set the pace for our journey back to the SVNS Series. Winning here would be a big plus and put us in a good position going into the other legs.

“Hosting a championship like this is a plus for the country. It shows Kenya is growing rugby-wise, that we have talent, and that sports should be taken seriously.”

Last season Kenya’s women won the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series at the end of several dominant performances.

Back-to-back wins in Cape Town, the side finished third in Krakow to top the table. They secured their spot at HSBC SVNS 2 in 2026 with a strong performance in Los Angeles at the HSBC World Championship playoffs event.

Both teams have been preparing for this campaign with training camps. Kenya’s men went to South Africa to take on the Blitzboks, while the women’s side went to Spain.

“We’ve been training for a long time, and right now we’re sharpening our game,” Chajira said. “The camp in Spain will expose us to the same quality of teams we’ll face here in Kenya.

“Whether we are hosting or not, the pressure is always there. Our goal is to qualify for the SVNS Series, and that means beating every team we meet.”