Kenya Lionesses interim head coach Simon Odongo has identified kickoff reception and decision-making as areas to improve ahead of next month’s World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series leg in Uruguay.
Odongo spoke after an extensive review of last weekend’s Division One leg, where the Lionesses finished fifth out of six teams at Nyayo Stadium.
“Looking at the overall picture, we struggled at kickoff restarts in many games and our decision-making in some matches — where we chose to kick instead of pass or ran into opponents instead of looking for space,” said Odongo.
On restarts, he admitted the team must adapt to its physical profile.
“In regards to kickoff reception, we don’t have tall girls, so we have to adapt and improve the lifter and the catcher going forward,” he said.
Odongo remains optimistic about the team’s prospects, especially after falling to narrow defeats.
“If you look at our results, the margins were less than seven points. If we clean up certain facets of play, we will be in contention to win matches,” he added.
The former Quins’ assistant coach stressed the importance of improving their conversion rate.
“Our kicking for conversions has to be better. We will work on that with Geace Okulu once we resume training. Those two points are very important, especially in tight matches,” said Odongo.
He wants the players to cope better with the pressure of performing in front of large home crowds.
“A good number of the girls are not yet accustomed to playing in a big stadium. They have to get used to it going forward and make the right decisions in both attack and defence,” he said.
The Lionesses registered one win over the weekend, edging Brazil 15-12, but fell 12-10 to South Africa, 5-0 to eventual winners Argentina and 14-5 to Spain.
The team is on a one-week break before resuming training in readiness for the Montevideo leg scheduled for March 21-22, with the final leg set for the following week in São Paulo, Brazil.
