Kenya Lionesses learn opponents ahead of Olympic repechage

Kenya 7s national women’s team, the Lionesses, have landed Pool A ahead of the World Rugby 7s repechage slated for the Stade Louis II in Monaco from June 21–23. The event returns to the venue that also hosted the final qualification events before the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

 They will lock horns with Argentina, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa.

 The Dennis Mwanja-coached side missed an opportunity to automatically qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games as they succumbed to a 12-7 defeat against South Africa in the 2023 Rugby Africa Women’s 7s Cup final played in July 2023 in Monastir, Tunisia.

With the loss, Kenya finished in second place and still has one last chance to make it to the Paris 2024 Games via the repechage tournament.

Since Rio 2016 and the entry of rugby 7s into the Olympic programme, no other country apart from Kenya has represented Africa at the Olympics in women’s rugby sevens, with the Lionesses taking part in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

In Pool B, Uganda will play alongside Hong Kong, China, Paraguay, and Jamaica, while China, Poland, Mexico, and Czechia have been placed in Pool C.

How the pools were drawn

The pools were drawn on Saturday, April 20, at an event in Monaco ahead of the crucial final qualification tournament to decide the last remaining men’s and women’s teams to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

 Their Serene Highnesses Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco, accompanied by World Rugby Vice Chairman John Jeffrey, attended the pool draw.

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The tournament will feature 12 women’s and 12 men’s teams, all vying to achieve the ultimate prize of representing their country on the biggest global sporting stage of them all.

Rugby sevens is set to provide an unforgettable curtain raiser at the Stade de France as the first sport to kick off the Olympic Games in Paris on July 24, 2024, two days ahead of the opening ceremony.

All six World Rugby regions are represented among the 11 men’s and 11 women’s teams that have already secured their spots in Paris via the HSBC SVNS and regional qualification competitions.

In the men’s event, hosts France are joined by New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji, and Australia, who booked their places in Paris by ranking in the top four positions of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023, along with six regional qualification tournament winners in Uruguay (South America), Ireland (Europe), the USA (North America), Kenya (Africa), Samoa (Oceania), and Japan (Asia).

The women’s Olympic line-up includes New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, and the USA as the top four qualifiers through the 2023 World Series, along with hosts France. They have been joined by Brazil, Canada, Great Britain, South Africa, Fiji, and Japan as regional qualification tournament winners in the women’s tournament.

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Repechage Pools

Men’s Pools

Pool A: South Africa, Chile, Tonga, and Mexico

Pool B: Great Britain, Canada, Uganda, and China

Pool C: Spain, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, and Brazil

Women’s Pools

Pool A: Argentina, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa

Pool B: Uganda, Hong Kong, China, Paraguay, and Jamaica

Pool C: China, Poland, Czech, and Mexico