Kenya Lionesses have taken a significant step towards securing a spot in the HSBC SVNS after a triumphant start in the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025 in Cape Town.
The Kenyan women’s sevens team put on a stellar performance, clinching victory in consecutive rounds of the series after battling past Argentina 17-12 in the first round last weekend and stunning hosts South Africa 17-0 in the second round on Saturday.
The Lionesses, who reached the final with a come-from-behind 12-5 victory over Colombia in the semis, floored the Women Boks with tries from Naomi Amuguni, Sharon Auma, and Freshia Oduor, with Sinaida Nyachio making one successful conversion.
Dennis Mwanja’s charges is now the only team to beat South Africa twice in the Challenger Series after defeating the southerners 19-15 in the semi-final of the first challenger stage held on 2 March in Cape Town.
Kenya now leads the women’s standings on 40 points six ahead of South Africa. Argentina are third tied on 30 points with Colombia. Lionesses now heads to the final leg of the Challenger Series slated for 11-12 April in Krakow, Poland.
The Lionesses drew first blood in the first half as Naomi Amuguni landed the first try of the match as she rounded her defender to give Lionesses an early 5-0 lead. The conversion attempt by Sinaida Mokaya was unsuccessful, Kenya holding on to the 5-0 to half time.
The Kenya Lionesses were confident and their focus was unfazed as they kept on attacking the Springbok Women’s defensive line in the second half. Captain Grace Okulu was tasked with the second half restart, kicking the ball deep into South Africa’s half. The Lionesses’ defensive line quickly and stealthily following the ball and putting South Africa under pressure which resulted in SA’s winger Ayanda Malenga knocking on the ball inside their 22.
Both teams traded a few ball handling errors, however, Kenya emerged more clinical when they had the ball in hand. Off a scrum in South Africa’s 22M line, Sinaida Mokaya sent the ball to the experienced Sheila Chajira who then passed it to the mercurial winger Sharon Auma. Sharon’s pace was no match for the Springbok Ladies as she made her way to the try line to land a converted center post try extending the Lionesses lead to 12-0 with three minutes left on the clock.
Head Coach Denis Mwanja made changes after this play, Sharon was replaced by her equally fast teammate, Freshia Oduor who landed the Kenya Lionesses winning try. She landed a corner post try but the conversion was unsuccessful bringing the full time score to 17-00 in favor of Kenya Lionesses.
On their way to the final, Kenya Lionesses beat Colombia 12-5 in the cup semifinal while in the Pool matches, they had beaten Belgium 17-05 and Uganda 10-05 in the golden point.
“Playing against Uganda and Colombia was tough for us and in the semifinal, our girls looked a bit rattled. In the Colombia game we wanted to keep possession of the ball and using our chances, being able to utilize our opportunities. In the final, I told the players to go and leave it all on the pitch,” said Head Coach Denis Mwanja.
“We lost to South Africa in Tunisia 2023 and again in Ghana 2024 so this victory is poetic justice for us. The girls believed in themselves and they beat SA in this final. Let us enjoy this moment and then after a week’s rest, we are back to training ahead of the third leg of the Challenger Series in Poland.” he concluded.
The top-four sides after the Krakow round will meet bottom-four teams in the 2024-25 World Rugby Women’s Series for in the HSBC SVNS play-offs set for 3-4 May in Los Angels for four slots in the 2025-26 HSBC SVNS.
Mwanja is impressed by the show heaping praise on his team’s stellar performance and emphasized the importance of finishing strong in the final leg.
“Being at 40 points gives us an assailable lead against the other teams. We are not just looking at getting to the semis but gathering all the points and getting a weaker opposition for the promotional relegation playoffs in LA,” he said.
Vice-captain Grace Achieng echoed the coach’s sentiments, crediting the team’s success to sheer determination and relentless training.
“We’ve come this far due to our determination and hard work that we have been putting in training. We have been fighting to qualify, and this is us preparing for the HSBC. We fell short last year, but this year the girls decided to play, and we are here to win everything.”
Introduced in 2020, the Challenger Series has provided a crucial platform for emerging teams to gain exposure and compete for a place at the highest level of rugby sevens. With their impressive start, Kenya Lionesses have set their sights on making history by earning their place among the world’s elite.
