Paul Murunga has made seven changes to the Kenya Lionesses squad that will take on Colombia in the WXV3 series in Dubai on Friday, October 27, 2023.

Of the seven changes, three are in the starting lineup, with the other four on the bench.

Changes

After making two appearances from the bench, Naomi Muhanji has finally been given her first start of the campaign. Judith Okumu will start as a scrumhalf, while Sharon Auma will make her first appearance in the series as she is set to start at the wing.

After missing the match against Kazakhstan, in which Kenya lost, Knight Otwoma, Valentine Otieno, and Edith Nariaka return to the matchday squad.

Lionesses will miss the services of Grace Okulu, who is not available as she is serving a two-match suspension. This suspension has been carried forward from the Rugby Africa Women’s 7s final against South Africa in Tunisia.

With one point, Kenya are fifth after playing two matches, while their next opponents are sixth without a point so far.

According to the World Rugby Women’s Rankings, the team finishing bottom of WXV 3 will play off against the next-best-ranked side.

Murunga’s optimistic

Looking ahead, Murunga is confident that the Lionesses are ready to perform and produce a positive result.

“It has been a good week in terms of training. We identified several areas we needed to fix after the Kazakhstan game. We’ve polished our plays, especially on attack. The girls must also be more confident when playing.

“This will be our second meeting with Colombia; we last played them in Nairobi in August 2021, and they won 16-15. We are expecting an equally tough game against them, and we will try to play an expansive game.

“We are pleased that our seven players have gelled with the rest of the squad after their arrival from Tunisia, and their input will be key to our game plan,” Murunga said, as quoted by the Kenya Rugby Union.

Murunga believes that more exposure to high-level opponents will be key in helping the team grow into a competitive outfit.

“We need to have more engagements similar to WXV3 in order to get the team used to playing at this level. It is very good exposure,” he added.

Lionesses squad

15. Diana Omosso, 14. Sharon Auma, 13. Prisca Nyerere, 12. Stella Wafula, 11. Terry Ayesa, 10. Anne Goretti, 9. Judith Okumu, 1. Rose Otieno, 2. Naomi Muhanji, 3. Natasha Emali (VC), 4. Maureen Chebet, 5. Naomi Jelagat, 6. Enid Ouma (C), 7. Diana Kemunto, 8. Phoebe Akinyi

Replacement: 16. Knight Otwoma, 17. Valentine Otieno, 18. Evelyn Kalemera, 19. Faith Livoi, 20 Hesla Khisa, 21. Edith Nariaka, 22. Esther Juma, 23. Michelle Akinyi