Patrick Odongo Reveals Painful Lesson Learnt from Shujaa’s Failed Promotion Quest

Kenya Sevens star Patrick Odongo has shared some of the tough lessons he picked from their failure to secure top flight promotion.

Shujaa came so close to earning a return to the World Sevens Series, now known as HSBC SVNS Division 1, but fell at the final hurdle during the SVNS World Championship in Bordeaux, France in June.

Bordeaux was the third and final leg after the first two rounds in Hong Kong and Valladolid and Kenya needed an inspired performance to finish inside the top eight to seal their place in the top flight as they had come in on 14 points, same as seventh-placed France, with ninth-placed Uruguay on six points while Germany and USA had five each.

However, tables turned painfully for Kenya as while France stormed all the way to the cup final while USA made it to the fifth-place playoff, Shujaa dropped to the 11th place playoff.

It was a dramatic final leg in France where Kenya won only one match, a 26-7 victory over Uruguay in the 11th place playoff, which earned them just one extra point for a total of 15 at the conclusion of the SVNS World Championship.

However, they still had a chance of promotion but only if Fiji defeated USA in the fifth-place playoff.

All seemed to be going according to plan when Fiji took a 14-0 lead at the break but everything changed in the second half as the Americans fought back to win 17-14. That saw USA claim the final promotion slot while relegating Shujaa to the second tier HSBC SVN 2 for a second successive season.

For Odongo, it was a painful experience that left him dejected but he admits to have learned the hard way heading into next season.

“One thing I learnt in Bordeaux is that don’t rely on anyone if you go there,” Odongo told the media during an engagement organised by his sponsors Red Bull.

“Win all your games and then see what happens. We performed well in Valladolid and reached the quarters but in Bordeaux, we never did well.”

It was a sobering outcome for Odongo and his teammates, who had finished seventh and eighth in Hong Kong and Valladolid respectively, and needed to maintain the same in Bordeaux to secure promotion only to fall at the final hurdle.

“We came back and we will start again. We have another opportunity. The call-ups will happen after the National Sevens Circuit and the players will start planning from there,” added the 24-year-old, who hopes to right the wrongs of last season.

For Odongo, doing well next season is not just paramount for the country but also for him personally since it comes with the added desire to fly the flag of his sponsors Red Bull on a global stage.

“Podium finish means the brand is seen and I will be marketing the brand even more. For example, if I score a try in the final, they will be like…that is a Red Bull athlete,” the Daystar Falcons star further stated.