The National Women's 15's team, Kenya Lionesses Suffered a shocking loss to Colombia in a crucial match at Nyayo National Stadium.
The match was actually a Repechage Qualifier match that paved the way towards the tournament that features 4 teams of which the winner gets a ticket to the Rugby World Cup finals. Kenya lost 16-15 in what was a heart-breaking close call. With the victory, Colombia thus advanced to the final qualifying repechage tournament set for January 2022 in Dubai.
Taking center stage was Colombian fly half Maria Alzuaga who had other ideas after breaking Kenyans hearts with her 16 point performance, scoring two unconverted tries and two penalties to lead the South Americans to the next stage. Leah Wambui and Janet Okello crossed over for Kenya’s two tries as Grace Adhiambo added five points in the defeat. The Lionesses however suffered two sin bin cautions that saw the team struggle hard with only 13 players on the pitch. On the receiving end of the cautions was skipper Juliet Nyambura who got penalized for dangerous play.
Colombia capitalised on to double their lead to 6-0 with another penalty by Alzuaga. In the final half, the Lionesses came back stronger and reduced the lead to 10-11 after Adhiambo converted three points off a penalty. The South American team then leapfrogged to the lead as they landed a corner post try, conversion sailing away to make it 16-15 for the visitors. The defeat now stretches the Lionesses' losses to five in a row since competitive rugby resumed after a break due to the coronavirus outbreak. Scrutiny is now on the head coach, Felix Oloo on whether his tactics are bound to bring positive change even after reshuffling the Kenyan squad.