Kenya Lionesses will be hoping to make it third time lucky at the World Sevens Series qualifiers in March next year.
The Lionesses, under the tutelage of Felix Oloo, have come close in the past two seasons, losing to China and Brazil in the semis.
Having secured qualification to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics next year, the target will be to qualify for the 12-team tournament.
Team manager Camilyne Oyuayo said the team started training last week after the mandatory Covid-19 tests and will train until December 18, break for Christmas and New Year holidays and resume in January.
Oyuayo said the girls have been training individually with the hope of qualifying for the World Series once World Rugby announces the dates and venue for the qualifiers.
The tournament was slated for South Africa this year but was postponed due to the Covid 19 pandemic.
"Having been to the semis, we now need to take the next step and I think this group can do it,” added Oyuayo.
Oyuayo said the Lionesses need to test themselves against the core sides of the game like champions New Zealand, Australia, England and USA.
"Our play will improve and be competitive once we meet these teams on a regular basis and it's our goal to play on consistently," she said.
On the 15s front, whose draw for the World Cup was released a fortnight ago, Oyuayo said she is confident the team can qualify for their maiden World Cup in New Zealand next year.
Meanwhile, Oyuayo said plans are underway to play either Uganda or Madagascar before facing Colombia in the Rugby World cup qualifier in April 2021 in Nairobi. Should Kenya beat the South Americans, they will advance to the final qualifiers slated for June.
"The qualifier is a one-off game and playing on home soil gives us an advantage," she added.
