Murunga confident of Lionesses abilities despite loss to Spain

Former Kenya 7s tactician Paul Murunga has remained optimistic that his charges will bounce back to winning ways after going down 32-0 to Spain in their WXV3 opener played at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai on Saturday 14 October.

The high-flying Spaniards touched the whitewash four times through Captain Christina Blanco, Maria Calvo who plays position eight, speedster Claudia Perez, and blindside flanker Vico Gorrochategui to keep the Kenyans scoreless.

Speaking on their performance, Pau emphasized that a significant factor that contributed to their less-than-ideal performance was the fact that most players were making their international debut, and this understandably led to nervousness and anxiety. Despite that, he expressed confidence in the ladies' ability to adjust and improve when they face Kazakhstan in their second match.

"Most of these girls had not played international games. Our girls can play. It is just the change of environment and exposure, they tend to hold back, but they can play. If we are able to play the game according to our structures and how we have played and just be aggressive and just decide to play," the eloquent tactician said.

The match was the first between the two sides. The Kenya Harlequins gaffer also pointed out that the nervousness and anxiety saw his charges not play according to the script, and in turn, they conceded tries in the opening minutes. They took too long to get back to the game, an area that Spain capitalized on.

Mwanja elated with Lionesses' performance at Africa Women's 7s

"Not the results we wanted. We had so many mistakes on our end and we did not take advantage of our plays especially the mauls to ensure we were able to score. We panicked and most of the players did not play according to our setpieces, We conceded early tries, the game became harder and we did not come back so another chance for our girls to experience a new level of the game and ensure they were able to adjust and play at that level," Pau told Mozzart Sport.

The former Homeboyz RFC gaffer was also excited that five experienced players would join the team from Tunisia to further strengthen the squad. Other Lionesses were in Tunisia over the weekend for the Africa Women's 7s tournament-cum-Olympic qualifiers. They put up a spirited fight to reach the finals where they went down 12-7 to South Africa.

"Five of our girls will come from Tunisia tomorrow to ensure they beef up the team and make sure that they assist in terms of experience and general morale of the team. If we keep our positive vibe and focus on the Friday game, then we will win. It will be good for us to win our first WXV3 games this coming Friday," he offered.

With the loss now behind their back, Pau revealed that the Lionesses have shifted focus to their match against Kazakhstan on October 20. They will later take on Colombia on October 27.

"We are back to the drawing board. We will do video reviews, see our mistakes and as we start the new week, we will rectify and build on the game against Kazakhstan on Friday," the gaffer averred.

The Lionesses qualified for the WXV3 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.

Lionesses squad: 15. Freshia Awino, 14. Prisca Nyerere, 13. Charity Juma, 12. Laureen Akoth, 11. Lewin Amazimbi, 10. Ann Goretti, 9. Diana Omosso, 1. Rose Otieno, 2. Staycy Atieno, 3. Natasha Emali (V/C), 4. Naomi Jelagat, 5. Faith Livoi, 6. Michelle Akinyi, 7. Diana Kemunto, 8. Knight Otwoma (C) REPLACEMENTS 16. Naomi Muhanji, 17. Evelyn Kalemera, 18. Valentine Otieno, 19. Hesla Khisa, 20. Maureen Chebet, 21. Winnie Awino, 22. Edith Nariaka, 23. Agatha Jamari