Kenya Lionesses will face South Africa and Rhinos club in warm-up matches next week in Cape Town in readiness for the WXV 3 in Dubai in October.
This will be the second meeting between Springbok and the Lionesses with the African champions having beaten the Kenyan side 48-0 during the Africa Cup in Madagascar in May.
Head coach Dennis Mwanja will be seeking an improvement in performance from his charges during the clash as the WXV tournament looms.
Mwanja said the areas of improvement will be game management, attack, defence and the setpiece.
“We have noted and worked on four main areas and we are confident of good performance. The girls are in good shape and we are ready and raring to go,” observed Mwanja.
The KCB assistant coach faces a tough juggling act with the Africa Cup- cum-Olympic Sevens qualifier set for October 14-15 in Tunisia.
“It’s a good problem to have when you have two important tournaments at the same time. We will split the team and have two competitive squads in both tournaments,” he explained.
Skipper Enid Ouma said they have acclimatised to the hot conditions expected to face in both Cape Town and Dubai. “We have been training with Jackets in the hot midday sun to get used to the conditions we expect especially in Dubai.”
Moraa said competition for places in the squad has been intense. “Everyone is fighting for a position in the squad and they have all worked hard. I believe the best squad will be selected.”
The Simbas face an acid test in the WXV3 tournament, where they face Spain in their opening match on October 14 before taking on Kazakstan on October 20. They play their final pool match against Colombia on October 27.
Kenya qualified for the WXV competition by finishing second in the Africa Cup, where they beat Madagascar 29-20, thrashed Cameroon 52-3, and lost to South Africa 48-0.