Wambua heaps praises on Kenya Lionesses
What you need to know:
- Wambua said beating South Africa for the first time was a milestone for his team.
Kenya Lionesses head coach Kevin “Bling” Wambua has showed his charges with praise despite not winning the 2018 Women’s World Rugby Sevens Series qualifier in Hong Kong on Friday.
The Lionesses’ run at the qualifier ended at the semi-finals when they lost to continental rivals South Africa 12-7 in sudden death at Hong Kong Stadium.
Kenya had earlier in the pool stages stunned South Africa 24-12 for the first time ever to top their pool and advance to the main Cup quarterfinals. The Lionesses matched after stopping Argentina 17-12 for their semi-final rematch with their continental arch rivals.
“I was gutted by the sudden-death loss but I’m not disappointed because the girls played their hearts out,” said Wambua. “The players rose to the occasion and made the country proud.”
Wambua said beating South Africa for the first time was a milestone for his team. “It was the sweetest feeling ever since I started handling these girls. It came through continued struggle and effort,” said Wambua.
A try from South Africa’s Andiswa Ndawonde in sudden-death shattered Kenya’s hopes of making the final in a qualifier where the winner gets to play in the 2018/2019 Women’s World Rugby Sevens Series.
After a scoreless first half, Zenay Jordaan broke the deadlock when she scored in the 11th minute and converted to give South Africa a 7-0 lead. Kenya battled to level after Janet Okello crossed the line two minutes later, and Doreen Remour converted.
However, South Africa’s hope of making to the Series were dashed when they lost to China 31-14 in the final. China had beaten Belgium 22-5 in the other semi-final match.
Remour’s try in sudden death of extra time had earlier seen Kenya reach the semi-final with a 17-12 win over Argentina.
The Argentines were a difficult opponent for the Kenyans, hogging possession for large spells of the fixture and were first on the scoreboard went skipper Sofia Gonzalez went over for an unconverted try.
Sinaida Aura scored for Kenya late in the half to restore parity as the teams went into the break tied 5-5.
Okello gave the Lionesses the lead for the first time in this match with a solo try from 65 meters out but Gonzalez scored a converted try to tie things up at full time.
The Lionesses would lose Janet Owino to injury minutes into extra time but were still able to conjure up the killer punch moments after the Argentines had conceded a rare penalty.
Celestine Masinde created the opportunity that found Remour in space to race clear and find the try line, setting up a repeat clash in the semi-final against South Africa.
