Kenya Lionesses edge South Africa to reach Challenger Series final

Kenya Lionesses booked their place in the Challenger Series final following their hard-fought 19-15 victory over South Africa in the semifinal match played on Sunday, 2 March at the Athlone Sports Stadium.

The match started in favor of the hosts, with Nadine Ross scoring an early try in the corner, making the conversion attempt difficult.

Ayana Malinga then extended South Africa’s lead as her third try of the tournament, saw the home side stretch their lead to 10-0.

However, the Lionesses found their rhythm, breaking through the South African defense through Naomi Amuguni, who sliced through to score under the posts, reducing the deficit to 10-7 after a successful conversion.

Moments before halftime, Sharon Auma added another try in the center of the posts, to turn the tie in favour of Kenya.

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The second half saw Freshia Oduor widen the gap, touching down to push Kenya’s lead to 19-10.

South Africa fought back, scoring a late try in extra time, but an unsuccessful conversion left them trailing as the match ended 19-15.

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Kenya’s journey to the final has been impressive, having dominated their pool matches with a 20-5 win over Samoa and a 29-5 victory against Poland.

They will face Argentina in the final slated for Sunday 8:54 pm (East African Time)