NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 1 – The Kenya Lionesses take on their Ugandan counterparts in Kampala on Wednesday, with their sights pegged on qualification to the Rugby Africa Cup.
After their opening day win over Zambia, the Lionesses sit top of the three-team qualification group with five points, one ahead of Uganda who also won, but didn’t pick a bonus point.
Head coach Dennis Mwanja says the team is determined to give a better performance against the Lady Cranes, noting there were many points of improvement from the Zambia game.
“The whole team will be ready to step up, correcting our set pieces, improve our strike rate, playing in the right zones and building consistency in phase play by being able to string more than five phases,” the tactician said.
He added; “We didn’t start off as we expected against Zambia. We played in the wrong territory, we were not kicking tactically, we did not use our opportunities well. We also did not have consistency in our phase play. The girls were bullied physically; their body position was off. The ball also didn’t flow in the back line.”
He has also pointed out that the team will have to make adjustments against a tougher Uganda side, pushed from the stands by the home fans.
“As we head into the Uganda game, we have adjusted our set pieces and have got clarity in our attacking and defensive structure. We’ve also addressed the issue of getting the backs more involved in the game and we expect all 15 starters to hit the ground running,” the tactician stated.
The winner of the clash between Kenya and hosts Uganda will not only win the Pool B competition but will also qualify for next year’s Rugby Africa Cup which serves as a qualifier for the inaugural World Women 15s WXV in 2023.
-Additional reporting courtesy of KRU
