Kenya's Lionesses Ready to Shine in Dubai: A Captain's perspective

Kenya Ladies national team; Lionesses are sharpening claws for the highly anticipated World Rugby WXV3 tournament penciled for Dubai from October 13th to 28th. The team, under the tutelage of head coach Dennis Mwanja and assistant coach Paul Murunga is poised to make the country proud in the ground-breaking women's competition.

The Lionesses qualified for the WXV competition by finishing second in the Africa Cup where they defeated Madagascar 29-20, saw off Cameroon 52-3, and lost 48-0 to South Africa.

In an attempt to prepare them for the upcoming tournament, the Lionesses went for trial matches in South Africa, where they played against Blitzboks ladies and San Clemente. Their first match exposed all their weaknesses as they went down 77-12 to the determined South African matches.

Despite that, the Lionesses visibly worked on their weakness, and when they faced San Clemente on Saturday 23, they only lost 22-17. They conceded three tries in the final twelve minutes.

Speaking on their stay in the South African nation, Lionesses' captain Knight Otwoma noted that the ladies were showing signs of progress. From losing 77-12 to SA ladies and narrowly missing a victory against their arch rivals San Clemente, Otuoma was pleased with what the ladies were capable of.

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"There is an improvement. Personally I was impressed because during the matches we implemented what the coaches taught us. The game plan, and everything really worked. Despite what we saw on the scoreboard, I can say that we played our best," she averred.

Otwoma also pointed out that the ladies learnt not to be daunted by their opponents despite their (opponents) global recognition. For Otwoma, it was that fear of opponents that cost them during their opening match against South Africa ladies.

"We learnt not to view our opponents as giants. We feared South Africa, but then realized that they are ladies like us, We should not fear them," she offered.

The Impala RFC captain further underscored the importance of the ladies developing mental strength as they prepared for the WXV 3 tournament. In order to win over their opponents, Otwoma noted that they were working tirelessly to instill that in the ladies, especially the debutants. The team had five debutants.

"We need to strengthen our mental state. In the last game, we conceded three tries in the final twelve minutes," she revealed.

The Lionesses jetted into the country on Monday, and had a two-days rest as they prepared to depart for the Middle East country. Otwoma called on the ladies to make their endless hours of training sessions count.

"It starts with us communicating to each other, and everyone playing their role. It is a team, so if you see anyone forgetting, remind her. We have had a two-days rest. We have learnt a lot, we have been taught. I am calling on the ladies to execute what we have been learning. We have been training hard honestly, there is even a time we came from training at 2 am. It is upon us to do our best. We have to climb higher or remain at the WXV3 tournament. No dropping," she urged.

Otwoma further pointed out that several individuals displayed impressive performances, noting that the Lionesses meant business in the World Rugby WXV 3 tournament.

"We had standout performances from debutant Diana Omosso, Naomi Jelagat, Diana Kemunto, and Faith Kiboi," she offered.

The Lionesses face an acid test in the WXV3 tournament, where they face Spain in their opening match on October 14 before taking on Kazakhstan on October 20. They play their final pool match against Colombia on October 27.

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In spite of the challenge that lay ahead, the Kisumu Dolphins founder noted that they were well-prepared for the encounters.

"Be ready for us. We are going to give our best, and we mean business," she concluded.

The team had five debutants who included Esther Juma, Diana Omosso, Naomi Muhanji, Jiveti Diana Osore, and Faith Livoi.