The Kenya Lionesses made a powerful start to their Rugby Africa Women’s Cup Performance Division campaign with a commanding 43-10 victory over Uganda Lady Cranes in an entertaining East African derby staged at the RFUEA Grounds.

In front of an energetic home crowd, the Lionesses overcame an evenly contested opening spell before completely taking charge of the encounter with a fast-paced attacking display and dominant forward play that Uganda struggled to contain.

Kenya’s breakthrough came after speedster Janet Okello sliced through the Ugandan defence with a brilliant run before setting up Moreen Muritu for the opening try under the posts. Sinaida Mokaya calmly added the conversion, despite slipping during the kick, to hand the hosts an early advantage.

Uganda briefly responded with a converted try to level the scores, but the parity did not last long as Kenya quickly regained control. The Lionesses added another unconverted try before Freshia Oduor showcased her blistering pace, cutting through the defence to score Kenya’s third try and stretch the lead to 17-7.

As the pressure mounted, Uganda earned a penalty that could have reduced the deficit, but the visitors failed to capitalize. Kenya punished that miss almost immediately when debutant Tracy Montex crossed the whitewash after another impressive attacking move orchestrated by Okello, who proved to be a constant threat throughout the contest.

Although Uganda managed to add three points before halftime, the Lionesses still headed into the break comfortably ahead after a dominant first-half display that saw them rack up 22 points within 26 minutes.

The second half followed a similar pattern, with Kenya continuing to dictate proceedings through both their backs and forwards. Faith Livoi bulldozed her way over for another try shortly after the restart, with Mokaya successfully converting to extend Kenya’s advantage to 29-10.

The Lionesses’ forward pack then took centre stage, overpowering Uganda with a well-executed rolling maul that pushed Kenya beyond the 30-point mark and further highlighted their physical dominance.

Even after Mokaya narrowly missed a penalty attempt after the ball bounced off the posts, Kenya maintained relentless pressure by quickly recovering possession and launching another attack. Oduor later grabbed her second try of the afternoon, while Mokaya added the extras to seal an emphatic victory for the hosts.

The impressive performance underlined Kenya’s ambitions in the tournament, with the Lionesses showing sharp attacking movement, defensive discipline, and excellent cohesion across the squad.

Faith Livoi was deservedly named Player of the Match following her influential display in the comprehensive win.

The Lionesses will now shift focus to their next fixture on Wednesday as they continue their quest for success in the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup Performance Division.