Kenya Lionesses set for HSBC challenger series opener in South Africa
The National Women’s sevens side has been drawn in Pool D alongside Poland and Samoa as they seek to secure a top-four finish in the overall standings to advance to the HSBC 7s play-off tournament.
Kenya Lionesses are set to begin their campaign in the HSBC Challenger Series 2025, with the first two rounds taking place at Athlone Stadium in South Africa on March 1 and March 2, 2025 as well as March 7 and March 8, 2025.
The National Women’s sevens side has been drawn in Pool D alongside Poland and Samoa as they seek to secure a top-four finish in the overall standings to advance to the HSBC 7s play-off tournament.
The competition format will see the four pool winners’ progress directly to the semi-finals, while teams finishing second in their pools will compete for positions five to eight. Meanwhile, teams that finish third in their pools will contest the ninth-to-twelfth classification.
The top eight teams from the first two rounds will advance to the third round of the Challenger Series, scheduled for April 11 and April 12, 2025 in Krakow, Poland. At the conclusion of this round, the top four ranked teams will qualify for the HSBC SVNS play-off tournament in Los Angeles on 3–4 May, where they will compete for a place in the elite HSBC SVNS circuit.
The Kenya Lionesses will be looking to put their best foot forward in the opening rounds in South Africa, leveraging their experience and skill to secure vital wins. Poland and Samoa present formidable opposition. However, the Lionesses have demonstrated resilience in past competitions and will be eager to make a strong statement in their quest for top-tier sevens rugby.
The women’s competition includes South Africa, Czechia and Hong Kong China in pool A. Argentina head up pool B together with Thailand and Mexico. Pool C sees Belgium, Uganda and Colombia go in to battle. Poland are paired with Samoa and Kenya in pool D.
The first two rounds of the Challenger will replicate the competition format used for the recent HSBC SVNS Cape Town tournament in December 2024. This sees the four pool winners progress directly to contest the semi-finals, while second placed teams will play for fifth to eighth places and teams finishing third in their pools will compete for ninth to twelfth positions.
At the conclusion of the second round in Cape Town, the top ranked eight men’s and women’s teams will progress to the third and final tournament at the Henryk Reyman’s Municipal Stadium in Krakow on April 11 and 12, 2025.
