Kenya had contrasting fortunes at the HSBC SVNS 2 tournament in Montevideo, with the men's team Shujaa securing a podium finish, while the women's side Lionesses ended their campaign at the bottom of the standings after the final matches at Estadio Charrúa on Sunday.

Shujaa, who are coached by Kevin Wambua, clinched third place after outwitting hosts Uruguay 22-14 in their final match, replicating their Nairobi leg result. The United States were crowned back-to-back champions with a dominant 29-5 win over Germany, finishing with 15 points, while Germany took second on 12. Shujaa closed their Montevideo tour with 11 points.

Uruguay struck first after co-captain George Ooro was sin-binned, with Francisco Landauer scoring and converting for a 7-0 lead. Kenya were briefly down to six again when co-captain Samuel Asati saw yellow, but they responded strongly. Patrick Odongo scored twice in quick succession, in the seventh and ninth minutes, and Nygel Amaitsa’s conversion handed Kenya a 12-7 lead.

In the second half, Uruguay’s Dante Soto was yellow-carded, and Kenya capitalized immediately. Odongo completed his hat-trick to extend the lead to 17-7 before John Okoth added another try to make it 22-7, although the conversion was missed. Soto returned to score Uruguay’s second try, reducing the deficit to 22-14, but Kenya held firm to secure victory. Shujaa now turn their attention to the next leg in São Paulo in Brazil on March 28-29, targeting a top-two finish to boost their chances of qualifying for the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.

Meanwhile, Kenya Lionesses concluded their campaign with a 19-12 loss against Brazil, finishing last after managing just five points from five matches. Brazil started quickly, with Bianca Silva scoring early and Maysa Fernandes converting for a 7-0 lead.

Coach Simon Odongo's side responded through Charity Nilla Otengo, whose converted try leveled the match at 7-7. Brazil regained control when Yasmim Soares powered over for a converted try, making it 14-7. Janet Okelo kept Kenya in contention with a try that narrowed the score to 14-12 in a closely fought contest.

However, Silva sealed the win with her second try late in the game, pushing Brazil to a 19-12 victory. Kenya’s only win in the tournament came against Argentina 12-10, with the rest of their matches ending in defeat, highlighting a challenging outing for the Lionesses.

USA and Germany jointly lead the men's standings with 38 points after the opening two legs held in Nairobi and Montevideo, followed by Kenya (32), Uruguay (28), Canada (22) and Belgium (22).

The Lionesses are bottom on the women's table with 22 points, coming behind Argentina (40), South Africa (34), Spain (34), China (28) and Brazil (22).