- Kenya Lionesses walloped Argentina 17-12 in the final.
- Lionesses scored their tries through Judith Okumu (brace) and Naomi Amuguni.
- Kenya ended the first leg of the 2025 HSBC Challenger Series without suffering a defeat.
The Kenya women’s national rugby 7s team, commonly known as Kenya Lionesses, have clinched the HSBC World Rugby Challenger Series 2025 first leg title.
Lionesses put in an impressive shift to beat South American side Argentina 17-12 in the thrilling final that took place in Cape Town, South Africa.
Kenya, who have been excellent throughout the two-day tournament, took control of the match early in the first half thanks to Grace Okulu’s try that was converted to give them a 7-0 lead.
However, with less than a minute remaining, a miscommunication between two Lionesses players allowed Argentina to score their first try of the match, making the two sides to go to the break with a narrow 7-5 lead.
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Lionesses increased their lead half way through the second half via Judith Okumu, who penetrated their opponents defense before showing a clean pair of heels towards the touchline.
Okumu once again proved why is she so important to the Lionesses team when she scored the third try with 90 seconds remaining to the end of the match.
Immediately after a wonderful try from Okumu, Argentina pulled one back to reduce Kenya’s lead by five points but Kenya held on for the win.
Lionesses made it to the final after winning all their Pool D matches and overcoming pre-tournament favorites South Africa.
The side which is coached by Dennis Mwanja trounced Samoa 20-05 in their first match that was played at the Athlone Stadium on Saturday before beating Poland 29-07 in the final pool match.
The team went on to surprise many people when they came from 10-0 behind to secure a 19-15 victory of the hosts South Africa.
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Naomi Amuguni, who has had a stellar campaign, scored one of the tries in that hard fought win that also saw Sharon Auma and Freshia Oduor getting their names on the score sheet.
Lionesses will now shift their focus to the second leg of the tournament that is also scheduled to take place in Cape Town next weekend.
After the second leg, the team will head to Krakow, Poland to play the third and final leg of the HSBC Challenger Series. The event is will be held between April 11 and April 12.
Should Lionesses finish inside the top four positions at the end of the final leg, they will book a ticket to the HSBC SVNS Promotion/relegation play-off that is slated for Los Angeles, United States from May 3 to May 4.
In Los Angeles, the top four teams from the Challenger series will battle it out with the bottom four nations from the HSBC SVNS Series for a chance to play at the highest level next season.
Kenya Lionesses results Cape Town I
Kenya 20-5 Samoa
Kenya 29-7 Poland
Kenya 19-15 South Africa (Semifinals)
Kenya 17-12 Argentina (Final)
ALSO READ: Kenya Lionesses defeat Poland to reach semifinals in first leg of Challenger Series 2025