NAIROBI, Kenya, May 27, 2026 – Following their explosive 57-00 destruction of Madagascar at the RFUEA Grounds, Kenya Lionesses head coach Odongo says his charges have perfectly executed their initial tournament objectives, but has warned they must discover a more clinical edge to dethrone continental giants South Africa.
The massive Matchday 2 victory leaves Kenya with a perfect record of two wins from two games.
However, with a winner-takes-all tournament finale looming on Sunday against the Springbok Women, Odongo is already looking at the tactical adjustments needed to secure the ultimate prize.
Reflecting on his team’s dominant run in the tournament so far, Odongo expressed immense pride in how the squad has expressed themselves on the home turf, attributing their free-flowing performances to a sense of freedom and faith.
“First of all, I’d like to thank God for giving us this chance. And I think you can see how the ladies are playing, they’re enjoying themselves. Tne thing that we pride ourselves as Lionesses is to go out there and display our talents that we are given by God. If you watch the first two games, these ladies have had a lot of fun. We’ve ticked both our boxes in the first two games,” Odongo noted.
Despite the flawless start, the tactician was quick to remind his team that the ultimate objective has not yet been achieved.
“We still have one more game to climb the top, and I think that will be the big test,” he said.
The dramatic improvement in Kenya’s offensive shape and defensive rigidity on Matchday 2 was the result of high-stakes experimentation.
Odongo revealed that the technical bench had a very limited window to completely overhaul their tactical approach after the opening match against Uganda.
“We made a lot of adjustments in this game. We had only two training days to work on that. Credit to Coach Ominde as well and the other technical bench for helping as well, because Coach Ominde is working on the defense and I’m only doing the attack,” Odongo explained, paying special tribute to his backroom staff.
The breakthrough against Madagascar came down to bold selection choices, which saw several key figures deployed in completely unfamiliar roles.
“We pushed a couple of players in different positions, and I think for us, that really worked out today,” he added.
While a 57-point shutout against a dangerous Malagasy side would satisfy most coaches, Odongo is holding his team to a world-class standard.
With South Africa’s physical and clinical side waiting in the wings, the head coach expects a much higher conversion rate from his backline on Sunday.
“I can say we were not as clinical as I’d have wished. But again, you can’t have your cake and eat it. So we’ll take what we got today and we’ll go back and work and be more clinical against South Africa as well,” Odongo admitted candidly.
With the technical roles clearly divided and the players highly motivated by a roaring Nairobi crowd, the final match of the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup will test whether this revamped, attack-minded Lionesses squad is truly ready to reign supreme over Africa.
