Kenya Lionesses commenced their Rugby Africa Women’s 7s campaign with a commanding 44–0 victory over Ivory Coast in the second round of matches at the RFUEA Grounds.
Fresh from their Safari 7s triumph, the Lionesses were keen to impress on home soil against an Ivory Coast side that was on the brink of missing out on the Africa Women’s 7s quarterfinals after a heavy 57–0 loss to Ghana.
Kenya Lionesses opener
Unlike in their opener, Ivory Coast held firm early on, managing to keep Kenya from scoring in the opening three minutes.
However, speedster Janet Okello eventually broke the deadlock with a burst down the left wing.
She soon added her second, this time finishing in the right corner, stretching Kenya’s lead to 10–0.
In the dying seconds of the half, Sheila Chajira powered over the line to give the Lionesses a 15-point cushion.
Okello then completed her first-half hat-trick by diving over in the left corner, ensuring Kenya took a 20–0 lead into the break.
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After halftime, Freshia Awino sliced through the defence to score, followed shortly by scrum-half Edith Nariaka, extending the advantage to 32–0.
Faith Livoi then bulldozed her way over for 39–0 before Kenya sealed the dominant 44–0 win with a final five-pointer.
Defending champions South Africa recorded the biggest win of the round, thrashing Mauritius 68–0.
Maria Tshiremba opened the scoring before Simamkele Namba sprinted down the right to double the lead to 12–0.
Tshiremba then completed her brace, pushing the score to 19–0, before Nadine Roos added another for a 26–0 advantage.
Namba also bagged her second as the Cecil Afrika–coached side went into the break at 33–0.
In the second half, Ayanda Malinga, Vianca Boer (who scored twice), and Patience Mokone joined the scoreboard as South Africa cruised to a 68–0 victory.
Uganda also enjoyed a strong outing, securing a 50–0 win over Burkina Faso to boost their chances of advancing to the quarterfinals.
Rugby Africa Women’s 7s fixtures
Times in EAT
Tunisia 22-0 Egypt – 9:00 AM
Zambia 54-0 Burkina Faso – 9:22 AM
Ghana 57-0 Côte d’Ivoire – 9:44 AM
Zimbabwe 29-7 Mauritius -10:06 AM
Madagascar 31-5 Egypt – 12:00 PM
Uganda 50-0 Burkina Faso – 12:22 PM
Kenya 44-0 d’Ivoire – 12:44 PM
South Africa Mauritius – 1:06 PM
Madagascar vs Tunisia – 3:00 PM
Uganda vs Zambia – 3:22 PM
South Africa vs Zimbabwe – 3:44 PM
Kenya vs Ghana – 4:06 PM
