Dennis Mwanja hails Kenya Lionesses’ back-to-back HSBC Challenger Series victories as historic
The coach commended the Lionesses for composing themselves and taking their chances to win the two matches.
Kenya Lionesses coach Dennis Mwanja has described the team’s effort in securing back-to-back victories in the first two legs of the 2025 HSBC Women’s Challenger Series as historic.
The first two legs of the series were held in Cape Town, South Africa, with the Lionesses defeating Argentina 17-12 to win the First Leg before defending their title in the second leg with a 17-0 win over South Africa.
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“These two weekends have been historical,” Mwanja said.
He lauded his team for showing great mental strength to emerge victorious in the second leg during which they encountered tougher challenges from Uganda and Colombia.
“It has been a great weekend for us. Definitely, we had a target on our backs getting to the Second Leg. Playing against Uganda on Friday was tough and Colombia, though not as physical as Uganda, were smart and tactical,” Mwanja stated.
He commended the Lionesses for composing themselves and taking their chances to win the two matches.
“The girls panicked a bit but they managed to scrape their way to victory. A win is a win, however ugly it is,” Mwanja said.
“In the Colombia game, we insisted on keeping possession and taking our chances. Playing catch-up rugby is hard but at least the girls managed to use the opportunities that came their way,” Mwanja said about the Lionesses' 12-5 comeback victory against the South Americans in the semifinals.
After overcoming the challenging encounters against Uganda and Colombia to reach the final, Mwanja and his coaching staff took a relaxed approach to the final, ensuring the Lionesses played under less pressure.
“For the final against South Africa, it was more of a game of the girls expressing themselves. I told them to go and have fun and leave it all out there in the field,” Mwanja said.
Despite taking a relaxed approach for the final, the Lionesses remained determined to beat South Africa as Mwanja said they wanted to get revenge for past losses they suffered against them.
“We have history against South Africa as they had defeated us in Ghana and Tunisia. We wanted to erase those two losses and beating them twice at their backyard was poetic for us,” Mwanja said, referring to the Lionesses’ 19-15 victory over South Africa during the semifinals of the First Leg.
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