Kenya 7s, Lionesses storm into Challenger Series final

Kenya 7s and their female counterparts, Lionesses, will grace the Dubai Challenger Series finals after wins over Uruguay and Argentina on Sunday, January 14, 2024.

Shujaa, who suffered their first loss in the competition after going down to Germany on Saturday, managed a 21-5 victory over the South Americans to make it into the final.

It was another good day for Patrick Odongo, who stood out with a hattrick as Kenya maneuvered its way to the ultimate stage.

Odongo scored the opening try, which was converted for a 7-0 lead for the East Africans. Shujaa managed an extension of their lead when Nygel Amaitsa made a clever move before setting Odongo through for the second try with a conversion to make it 14-0.

A yellow card, which reduced the South American men on the pitch, gave Kenya an advantage that was utilized well as Odongo, with an assist from John Okoth, managed to score his third try.

Lionesses outwit Argentina

Meanwhile, Lionesses bossed the show against Argentina, as they emerged 17-0 winners.

Judith Auma gave Kenya their first try for a 5-0 lead, but it would have been a bigger margin had the conversion been successful.

The second try was scored by Naomi Amunguni, and a consequent successful conversion meant that Kenya were boasting a 12-0 lead at that point.

Another unconverted try by Sinadia Nyachio made sure that the Lionesses ended the game with a 17-0 win as they progressed to the final later on Sunday.

The top four placed men’s and women’s 2024 teams, based on cumulative series points after the third round, will secure their opportunity to compete in the new promotion and relegation play-off competition at the SVNS Grand Final in Madrid on May 31 to June 2 this year in Madrid, Spain, against the teams ranked ninth to 12th from HSBC SVNS 2024.