Lionesses hungry for glory on hunting expedition at Africa Rugby 7s

NAIROBI, Kenya, November 2 – National women’s rugby 7s coach Dennis Mwanja says the girls are hungry for success at the upcoming Africa Cup in Ghana as they set their long-term sights on qualifying for the World Rugby Series via the Challenger.

Mwanja says they have recovered from the heartbreak of missing out on this season’s series, as well as the Paris Olympics, and are ready for another onslaught for glory.

“We have been number two and the hunger in the team has grown. Looking at these upcoming competitions…and the captain agrees with me…we are not settling for less. We are just going for the trophy. It was a tough lesson; we lost the games but didn’t lose the lessons. A good sport is learning your lessons, picking yourself up and moving on,” the coach said.

It was a case of so near-yet-so-far for Lionesses who came within an earshot of qualifying for the prestigious World Rugby Series as well as a third consecutive Olympics appearance.

A fourth-place finish in the Challenger Series – with 38 points – put paid to their hopes of advancing to the crème-de-la-crème of rugby 7s.

Additionally, a 24-7 loss to China in the finals of the repechage in Monaco saw their Olympic hopes billow in smoke.

The disappointments notwithstanding, Mwanja says they were a lot of positives for the Lionesses in the past season.

“First of all, we are working on building the capacity of the team, which I say we have achieved. Getting that experience and cohesion in the team in the past season helped us a lot. We have a good opportunity for the future and we also have a lot of youth and experience in the team. We are hopeful and positive at the same time,” he said.

Lionesses are in Pool B of this year’s continental showpiece – scheduled for November 9-10 – alongside Mauritius, Madagascar and the hosts.

Taking nothing to chance

On paper, matches against the aforementioned seem an easy hunting expedition for the Lionesses; however, coach Mwanja is not getting carried away.

“We are quietly confident and taking it a game at a time. We stick to the basics, play our game and the score will take care of itself. As the tech bench, we have analysed…done videos. We have worked on the psychological part of the game,” Mwanja said.

The coach has named a 12-woman squad, a blend of youth and experience that includes Faith Livoi who will be making her maiden 7s appearance for the national team.

At last year’s edition of the same competition in Tunisia, Lionesses narrowly lost 12-7 to South Africa, which cost them direct qualification to the Olympics.

Speaking at the same time, team captain Sheila Chajira says they are approaching the tournament with a champion’s mentality – regardless of the opponent they will face.

“We came back from that competition and looked keenly at the mistakes that cost us on that occasion. This time should we meet them (South Africa), I know it is going to be different. We will stick to what worked for us and we have better plans…you guys will see, wait and see,” Chajira said.