September 16, (THEWILL) – The Nigerian rugby sevens team faced a tough 34-10 loss against rivals, Kenya, in their opening Pool B match of Olympic qualifying in Harare, on Saturday.
Despite early pressure, Nigeria struggled to contain a dominant Kenyan attack. The latter opened the scoring through Vincent Onyala, with Tony Omondi’s conversion making it 7-0. Nigeria managed an unconverted try in response, but Nigel Amaitsa’s quick footwork allowed him to touch down under the posts, Omondi extending Kenya’s lead to 14-5.
Straight from the restart, Kenya scored again as Kelvin Wekesa set up Onyala’s second try for a 19-5 half-time lead. Amaitsa grabbed a second-half brace between Festus Shiasi’s try to make it 34-5, before Nigeria scored a late consolation try to finish 34-10.
The loss leaves Nigeria facing an uphill battle to progress from the group and keep their Paris 2024 Olympic dreams alive. They will need improved defensive resilience and attacking potency in upcoming matches against regional rivals.
However, the team can take heart from an improved second-half performance. With further hard work on the training ground, Nigeria will aim to bounce back strongly and prove their quality.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
