The final qualification tournaments ahead of the 2027 HSBC SVNS Series are set to get underway in the coming weeks, with one of the most significant being the Africa Rugby Sevens Championship at the RFUEA Ground in Nairobi, Kenya.

Set to take place from the 7th to 8th November, the winner of the tournament will claim the women’s Africa Rugby Sevens title and qualify for the SVNS 3 tournament which will take place at the end of the month in Dubai.

Qualification for SVNS 3 will provide the opportunity to push for higher levels of qualification, with this year’s defending champions, South Africa, going on to play in both SVNS 2 and the SVNS World Championship earlier this year.

However, the Blazeboks are set to come into the tournament with a big target on their backs, with several nations having exhibited promising form in the Mauritius Sevens and the Safari Sevens earlier this month.

Across the weekend in Nairobi, 12 nations are set to compete across three pools, and top of the contenders for South Africa’s crown will be hosts Kenya, who have been drawn in Pool B alongside Tunisia, Ghana and Egypt.

The pool is set to be one of the most hotly contested, with Tunisia and Uganda enjoying strong form at the Safari Sevens, finishing in third and second, respectively.

However, the Lionesses are likely to be the big contenders, having just come off back-to-back titles at the Safari Sevens and recalling several heavyweight stars to the squad, most notably Grace Adhiambo, who missed out on the tournament due to club commitments with Racing 92.

Kenya will also be hungry for revenge after losing this fixture 22-0 to South Africa last year, with head coach Simon Odongo pulling out all the stops to reclaim continental bragging rights – and is expecting a tough road to get there in the pool stages.

“We are taking one step at a time,” Odongo said to The Star. “We play well in the preliminary games, then qualify for the knockout phase and get to the final.

“The nature of sevens is tricky, so we take one match at a time and, by the end of the day, we want to have qualified for the semi-finals.

“Tunisia trained with us at Safari Sevens, and they are improving. Ghana are a physical side who are learning the game very well, while Egypt are making strides.

“We played different formations and systems across all three teams [Lionesses, Junior Lionesses and Kenya Cubs] at Safari Sevens.

“We wanted to see them playing in different positions, like playing wing, centre or prop, so it was a solid exercise, and the technical bench learnt a few lessons.

“She [Adhiambo] is a vital member of the team, and with her history and knowledge of the game and her tactical acumen, she is an asset to the side. Her game has developed since joining France.”

The Blazeboks, meanwhile, will be strong favourites to top Pool A, drawing surprise packages Zambia, plus Rwanda and Zimbabwe, the latter of whom also took part at the Safari Sevens.

Completing the sides in Pool C will be several other contenders to keep an eye on, with Uganda, Madagascar, Mauritius and Burkina Faso set for several tough clashes.

Uganda will be a side to watch, having finished as runner’s up at the Safari Sevens, going down 22-5 in the grand final against the Lionesses. Mauritius also finished with the silver medal in the women’s iteration of the 2026 Mauritius Sevens.

With the Madagascar rugby program also advancing in leaps and bounds across both the men’s and women’s tournaments, it further adds to the competitiveness as to who will qualify for the knockout stages.

Africa Rugby Sevens Championship Pools

RFUEA Ground, Nairobi, Kenya – 7th-8th November 2026

POOL A: South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda

POOL B: Kenya, Tunisia, Ghana, Egypt

POOL C: Uganda, Madagascar, Mauritius, Burkina Faso