Kenya’s Grace Okulu kicks the ball against South Africa in the final of the second leg of the 2025 Challenger Series in Cape Town on March 8, 2025. Kenya defeated South Africa 17-0 to win the title.
The national seven-a-side women’s rugby team, Kenya Lionesses, are determined to step out of the shadows of their male counterparts, Kenya Shujaa.
Their message was loud and clear after making history by winning a global title for the first time—twice in a row.
The Lionesses dominated the first two legs of the 2025 World Rugby Challenger Series in Cape Town, South Africa over the weekend and last weekend.
Coach Dennis Mwanja’s squad stormed through the first leg, thrashing Poland 29-7 and Samoa 20-5 in Pool ‘D’, before edging out South Africa 19-15 in the semi-finals and Argentina 17-12 in the final.
In the second leg, the Lionesses continued their dominance, hammering Belgium 17-5 and Uganda 10-5 in Pool ‘A’, before dispatching Colombia 12-5 in the semi-finals and African champions South Africa 17-0 in the final.
The top eight women's teams—Kenya (40 points), South Africa (34), Argentina (30), Colombia (30), Thailand (22), Czech Republic (22), Poland (16), and Uganda (14)—marked International Women’s Day by qualifying for the next round in Krakow, Poland, on April 11-12.
The best four teams from this round will face off against the bottom four teams from the 2024-2025 World Series playoff.
“South Africa has been a great outing for us because we won two weekends in a row. It's historical for us as a nation and also as the Lionesses,” said head coach Dennis Mwanja from Cape Town before boarding the plane back home.
He added, “I thank God for these blessings. We savour them. South Africa was more about the team owning the process, believing in themselves, having an intrinsic drive, and making sure their name was heard. But we silenced them.”
Mwanja emphasised that the Lionesses are tired of being overlooked in favour of Shujaa.
“When we talk of rugby, the Lionesses are always taking a back seat, and everything is about Shujaa. So, the girls themselves said they want to be respected and take their rightful seat at the table of rugby—and they did,” he said after Kenya outplayed hosts South Africa with tries from Naomi Amuguni, Sharon Auma, and Freshia Oduor.
Sinaida Nyachio added one successful conversion. Mwanja is confident about the team’s future.
“The Poland leg will be a good time to gauge ourselves once again. But first, we relax, reset, and reboot for the upcoming assignments,” he said.
Captain Grace Okulu echoed her coach’s sentiments, saying they’re prepared for any challenge in the coming legs.
