Kenya Lionesses, the national rugby 15s women team was thrashed by Springbok Women in an international friendly ahead of their inaugural World Rugby WVX3 competition.
With the WVX3 set for October 13the to 28th, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the Dennis Mwanja team was beaten 77-12 from the South Africans held in Cape Town, South Africa.
The South Africans capitalized on the visitors’ mistakes to score the opening try that saw them take the early lead. Kenya then attempted to pile pressure on the South Africans but they (Kenya) kept infringing to see their African counterparts bag extra points.
Kenya only managed tries from Diana Kemunto went over with their opening try with a successful conversion and Ann Ann Goretti set up Stella Wafula for Kenya’s second try as Diana Omosso missed the conversion.
The Springboks dominated in the second half with 53 unanswered points to further down the Kenyans.
The Kenyans are set to play San Clemente Rhinos next weekend in what promises to be a mouth-watering fixture.
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.
Kenya qualified for the WXV competition by finishing second in the Africa Cup, where they beat Madagascar 29-20, thrashed Cameroon 52-3, and lost to South Africa 48-0.