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Kenya Lionesses thrash South Africa in Challenger Series Pool D

Saturday, August 13th, 2022 09:24 | By
Kenya Lionesses Janet Okello races past SA. PHOTO/KRU/Facebook.
Kenya Lionesses Janet Okello races past SA. PHOTO/KRU/Facebook.

Kenya Lionesses maintained their winning run in the Challenger Series thanks to a 31-5 victory over South Africa in a match staged at Estadio Santa Laura.

The win puts the Lionesses on top of pool D as they hope to win the pool. Captain Judith Auma led from the front as she bagged two tries in the victory.

Brace for Grace Odhiambo

Playmaker Grace Adhiambo also landed a brace in the encounter and went on to convert three of the five tries, securing the much-needed victory.

Kenya Lionesses' captain races for a try. PHOTO/KRU Facebook
Kenya Lionesses' captain races for a try. PHOTO/KRU Facebook

The Lionesses under coach Dennis Mwanja took a 12-5 lead to the break after Adhiambo scored the opener in the third minute and converted Auma's try three minutes later.

South Africa only managed an unconverted try in the half, cutting the gap to seven points at halftime.

In the second half, the Lionesses added three more tries with Janet Okello scoring the third try while Auma and Adhiambo bagged their second tries of the match.

Kenya Lionesses vs Chile

Kenya Lionesses are set to play Chile in the final match of the group stage on Saturday at 5:34 PM East Africa Time.

Launched in February 2020 to boost the development of rugby sevens across the globe, the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series acts as a promotion pathway for the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.

Grace Adhiambo scores for Kenya Lionesses. PHOTO/KRU/Facebook.

This year’s Challenger Series is being held as a one-off combined event that will feature 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams representing each of the six World Rugby regions. Those teams qualified for August’s tournament via regional competitions.

The tournament replicates the Olympic Games competition format, with the 12 teams drawn into three pools. The top two from each as well as the two best third-placed finishers will qualify for the knockout stages.

The winners of the women’s and men’s 2022 Challenger Series will take their place among the core teams in the 2023 Series.

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