Kenya Lionesses topped Pool D after staging a comeback to beat Chile 15-5 in a final group stage match played on Saturday.
Lionesses had kicked off the campaign with a 100% win record beating China 17-15 and whipping Africa Champions South Africa 31-5 in the second match. Three unconverted tries in the final half saw the side end the group phase with nine points.
Cagey half
For the hosts’ Chile, they were keen to bounce back to winning ways after back-to-back defeats in the opening two matches.
The first half was cagey and Chile managed to make the difference scoring just a minute to halftime through Gail Castaneda whose try went unconverted.
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In the second half, Kenya Lionesses came back stronger and after moments of search Janet Okello bulldozed her way through to the try-box for the first try that tied the scores at 5-5 after a missed conversion.
Rudisha Arasa scored the second try for the Lionesses to lead 10-5. They sealed their victory when Okello sold a dummy before racing to score the final try for a 15-5 win.
Lionesses head to the knockout stage with the hope of qualifying for the World 7s Series.
About Challenger Series
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.
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.
World 7s Challenger Series Results: (Timings in EAT)
Women’s
Kazakhstan 22-5 Columbia
Japan 44-5 Mexico
Belgium 41-0 Papua New Guinea
Poland 36-5 Argentina
Men
Uruguay 12-26 Uganda
Germany 21-10 Lithuania
Tonga 29-5 Jamaica
Hong Kong 33-12 Zimbabwe
Women’s
China 15-17 Kenya Lionesses -21:01
South Africa 21-10 Chile
Men
Korea 12-15 Papua New Guinea
Chile 19-14 Georgia
Women
Kazakhstan 24-5 Mexico
Japan 21-12 Colombia
Belgium 10-15 Argentina
Men
Poland 71-0 Papua New Guinea
Saturday 13 August
Uruguay 52-5 Luthiania
Germany 17-15 Uganda
Tonga 26-15 Zimbabwe
Hong Kong 47-0 Jamaica
Women
China 36-0 Chile
South Africa 5-31 Kenya Lionesses
Men
Korea 5-41 Georgia- 03:04
Chile 24-7 Papua New Guinea -03:31
Colombia 28-7 Mexico 16:28
Japan 26-7 Kazakhstan -16:50
Papua New Guinea 7-34 Argentinas -17:12
Kenya Lionesses 15-5 Chile 17:34
Uganda vs Lithuania -18:04
Germany Uruguay -18:26
Jamaica vs Zimbabwe -18:48
Papua New Guinea vs Georgia-19:10
Poland vs Belgium -19:40
South Africa vs China -20:02
Hong Kong vs Tonga -20:24
Chile vs Korea -20:46
