Kenya Lionesses suffered a 19–5 defeat to China 7s in their opening match of the second leg of the 2026 HSBC SVNS2 tournament at Estadio Charrúa in Montevideo on Saturday, 21 March 2026.
The Lionesses, coached by Simon Odongo, entered the tournament determined to bounce back from a disappointing first leg in Nairobi where they finished fifth with 12 points and managed only one victory.
The second leg presents a crucial opportunity for Kenya to break into the top four and keep their chances of promotion to HSBC SVNS 1 alive.
The encounter began cautiously, with both sides struggling to break defensive lines in a tightly contested opening half that ended scoreless at the interval.
Kenya Lionesses struck first
Kenya struck first shortly after the restart when Edith Nariaka crossed the try line to hand the Lionesses a 5–0 lead.
Sinaida Nyachio’s conversion attempt, however, drifted wide, leaving the East Africans with a narrow advantage.
China responded quickly through Gao Xiaoyang, whose try was successfully converted by Hua Beibei to swing the momentum in their favour at 7–5.
The Asian side maintained pressure and soon extended their lead when Le Zhang powered over for another try, with Hua again adding the extras to make it 14–5.
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China continued to dominate possession in the closing stages, and Chen Can added a third try to further stretch the gap.
The subsequent conversion attempt missed the target, but the result was already beyond Kenya’s reach as China sealed a 19–5 victory at full time.
Despite showing early promise after the restart, Kenya struggled to halt China’s attacking momentum as the match progressed.
Kenya Lionesses Next assignment
The Lionesses will now look to bounce back quickly when they face Argentina at 20:34 EAT before wrapping up day one against Spain, with further fixtures against South Africa and Brazil scheduled for day two.
