Accuracy, defence and attack are some of the areas Kenya Lionesses will have to sharpen ahead of the promotion-relegation shootout in Los Angeles on May 3-4.
Dennis Mwanja’s charges bagged the Challenger Seven Series title with 58 points after winning the bronze medal in Krakow, Poland, beating fast-rising Thailand 25-19.
Mwanja said the two-day tournament was an eye-opener after the team fell short of expectations.
“We have a short turnaround to Los Angeles. We have to go back to the drawing board to sort out our attack, defence accuracy and one-on-one tackles. We were exposed in the matches which we lost this weekend. We have to improve in those areas as Los Angeles will be a highstakes tournament,” observed Mwanja.
There will be no room for errors in Los Angeles with the Lionesses facing seasoned campaigners, Brazil, China, Ireland and Spain.
Others are South Africa, Argentina and Colombia, who, like Lionesses, qualified via the Challenger route.
“It’s going to be cutthroat and we must be at our best mentally and physically to seal qualification to the World Seven Series for next season,” said Mwanja.
“I believe the girls will have taken lessons from the events in Krakow.”
The Lionesses topped the standing with 56 points, with rivals South Africa second on 54. Argentina were third with 48 points, while Colombia took the final qualification spot with 40 points.
The Lionesses had mixed results at the tournament. They beat Belgium 12-0 in their opening match through Sinaida Mokaya’s brace.
They fell 28-12 to Thailand in the second group match, their first loss in the series. Mokaya and Stella Wafula scored Kenya’s tries in the encounter.
The Lionesses bounced back in their final pool match, defeating Colombia 12-7 with Skipper Grace Adhiambo and Mokaya of the score sheet. Kenya came up short in the semifinal, going down 22-10 to South Africa, with Freshia Oduor scoring a brace.
In the bronze medal match, Lionesses earned a measure of revenge, beating Thailand 25-19. Oduor scored a hat trick of tries with Wafula grabbing a brace.
