Kenya Lionesses experienced a heartbreaking loss to South Africa in the Africa Sevens/Olympic qualifiers final held in Monastir, Tunisia on Sunday, meaning they must now vie for a spot in the repechage to secure Olympic qualification.
The repechage, scheduled for June next year in Monaco, will feature teams from regions that did not secure direct qualification.
The final against South Africa proved to be a tense and closely contested match. The South African team began strongly, exerting pressure on the Lionesses, who struggled to advance beyond their own half. The Lionesses’ performance was marred by poor decision-making and ball handling, ultimately resulting in South Africa’s first-half try. The try was scored by South African captain Nadine Roos, though it remained unconverted, giving South Africa a 5-0 lead at halftime.
In the second half, the Lionesses returned with renewed energy, pinning the South Africans in their 22. Their determined efforts paid off when Sharon Auma broke through three opponents to score a try, which was successfully converted by Grace Odhiambo, giving the Lionesses a 7-5 lead.
However, the two-time African champions, South Africa, regrouped and secured a lead of 12-7 when Maria Tshiremba outpaced the Kenyan defence to score in the corner, with Roos converting the try.
The Lionesses had one final opportunity, but their hopes for automatic Olympic qualification were dashed when Auma was tackled, and Kenya conceded a penalty in the last moments of the match.
Several members of the Lionesses team will now join the 15s team for the WXV 3 tournament in Dubai. In their opening match, Kenya suffered a 32-0 defeat to Spain.
Lionesses’ captain, Grace Adhiambo, commended the team’s efforts and expressed frustration with the officiating in the final moments of the match. She acknowledged the girls’ strong performance and expressed determination to compete in the repechage next year.
In the semi-finals, the Lionesses defeated Uganda with a convincing score of 27-0, featuring a hat trick of tries by Janet Okello. South Africa secured their spot in the final by defeating Zambia 31-0 in the semi-final match.
During the group stage, the Lionesses had delivered impressive victories, including a 27-0 win over Zambia, a dominant 41-0 performance against Ghana, and a closely contested 20-17 win over Madagascar, allowing them to top Pool ‘B’.
