Seven new faces have been called up to the Kenya Lionesses training squad for the Africa Cup slated for next month in Madagascar.
Assistant coach Paul Murunga said the new call-ups include Carole Nyamwamu, Noline Khalei, Elizabeth Wekesa, Helen Achieng, Mitchell Alitusa, Rephne Ochanda, Sheila Wesa and Jane Chenya.
Murunga said the team has been training for the past month in readiness for the tournament, where the Lionesses finished second last year coming up short of the champions South Africa.
The Kenya Harlequins head coach said they have difficulties raising a full squad, owing to the team heading to the Challenger Sevens Series leg in Poland later next month.
“We do not have enough depth in women's rugby at the moment. We will have to rejig the backline because most of the players are going to be playing in the Challenger Sevens Series," said Murunga.
The tactician said they have had challenges getting the players' passports, especially with the challenges at immigration for the last couple of months.
"It has not been easy. We are aware of how tough it has been to process the players' new passports. So it's a race against time and we hope to get them before we depart on Thursday," he added.
Murunga said the strength of the side is in the forward play. "Our forward play has been immense for the past two years and we hope to continue the same when we go to Madagascar. We need to improve our play in the lineout, scrum, physicality, attack and defence,” Murunga noted.
Kenya will open their campaign against the hosts Madagascar on Saturday and Murunga said they will use the next few days to finalise their training before departure.
“We have three days to finish our training. After that, we will only engage in light training sessions to ensure we are in good shape," noted Murunga
After the Madagascar match, the Lionesses will then face champions South Africa before taking on Cameroon in the final match. The final squad is set to be unveiled tomorrow (Tuesday).
Last year, Kenya beat Madagascar 29-20, and trounced Cameroon 52-3 before losing to South Africa 48-0. The top two teams from the competition will qualify for the WXV3 tournament slated for September in the United Arab Emirates.
