Lionesses qualify for Los Angeles playoffs despite surprise loss to Thailand

Kenya Lionesses 7s side suffered their first loss in 10 games in the third leg of the HSBC Challenger Series after going down 28-12 to a well-oiled Thailand this afternoon in Poland.

Prior to this loss, the Lionesses who won the two back to back Cape Town series unblemished, looked untouchable. After their opener in Krakow this morning where they beat Belgium 12-0 under extreme cold conditions, the team looked somewhat lost and lagged in their surprising loss to the South East Asian country.

Despite the loss, Kenya has sauntered through to the playoffs in Los Angeles, Unites States as they hold a solid 40 points. Their day was made with a couple of fans in the stands who were singing and cheering all through.

In the Thailand game, Sinaida Nyachio once again proved the girl of the day scoring the opening try after breaking free following an interception of a loose ball. The try came just moments after the Thai team capitalised on some lacklustre defending from the Lionesses in their half with Dion Akwaja collecting herself for a successful try and well directed conversion later.

Kenya rose to the occasion this time forcing the opponents to myriad errors. The initiative of Dennis Mwanja’s girls paid off with Stella Wafula running through the Thai backline from a scrum after a nice tee off by Sheila Chajira to get the second try for Team Kenya. Nyachio got her conversion spot on to give the Lionesses a decent gap.

Chajira was to later put Kenya in bad stead after getting sin-binned for an infringement thus momentum shifted. Kenya had to play the remaining minutes and seconds of the half in a defensively smart manner with the likes of Naomi Amuguni and Grace Adhiambo doing donkey work.

The second half saw Kenyans in the ropes just after the break with the Thailand side pushing deep into Kenya’s territory. Passon Jaengjob intercepted a pass early on to sprint clear for their second try, reclaiming the lead at 14-12. Jirawan Chutrakun then delivered a solo masterclass to stretch Thailand’s advantage, with Wannaree Mechock adding the conversion to make it 21-12.

Chutrakun was not done yet. She returned with yet another try to put the game beyond Kenya’s reach. Mechock converted once more to bring the final score to 28-12.

In the earlier match against Belgium, it was Sinaida Machio who stood out under the biting cold of five degrees Celsius. It was a tough swing-song match for both sides as neither was imposing themselves.

However, the Kenyans broke the deadlock with a neatly executed try and perfectly weighted conversion afterwards to take the East African nation to 7-0 at the break. On resumption, Kenyans had to be defensively aware due to the physical nature of play from the Belgians. They controlled possession and were a danger in the offloads but Lionesses stood their ground. Nyachio was not done yet and left it late to make herself available following an error at Belgium’s red zone; pouncing and running through for her second try of the game completing a well deserved win.