Shujaa returned to the World Sevens Series after a hard-fought 33-15 win over Germany in a promotion playoffs quarterfinal match in Madrid on Sunday.
It was sweet revenge for Kenya after a painful 19-17 defeat to the Germans a fortnight ago during the Challenger Sevens Series in Munich.
The Germans started strongly and took the lead in the first minute after Chris Umwh touched down at the corner for a 5-0 lead.
Kenya struck back immediately with co-captain Vincent Onyala finishing Kevin Wekesa's spadework with Tony Onyango converting for a 7-5 lead.
However, matters went south for Shujaa when Chrisant Ojwang was sent to the sin bin for a head collision against a German opponent. The Germans capitalised with Nikolas Koch crossing the whitewash as the Germans a 10-7 lead.
Ojwang redeemed himself on return by showing the Germans a clean pair of heels to touch down with Onyango converting for a 12-10 lead at the interval.
On resumption, John Okoth scored straight from the restart after bursting past two German defenders to score a centre-post try with Onyango converting for a 19-10 lead.
Maximilian Heid capitalised on a poor defence act by Shujaa to score a try and bring them to within four points.
However, Shujaa finished strongly with substitute George Ooro and Wekesa scoring a try each tries to send the thousands of Kenyan fans into delirium and the team back to the top tier of Sevens rugby.
Co-captain Vincent Onyala thanked the fans for their support.
“I would like to thank the fans for their messages and encouragement. It’s been a tough journey but we are delighted we are back,” said Onyala.
Kenya’s Sevens top try scorer Collins Injera believes the composition of a local technical beach helped Shujaa reclaim core status.
The wing wizard was full of praise for Shujaa.
He said: “I think having a tactically astute like Kevin Wambua, Louis Kisia as his assistant and (former captain) Andrew Amonde on the bench worked well for the team. They understood the players better and played Sevens rugby the right way, looking for space and mismatches.”
However, he wants them to preserve the core status.
“We have to nurture new talent. Our second string side, Morans, must not only play Safari Sevens but also satellite Sevens events to give them a chance of playing alongside their peers,” he added.
