Kenya Lionesses face Uganda in a mouth-watering Africa Cup Pool ‘B’ encounter at the Wankulukuku Stadium in Kampala on Wednesday.
Both teams registered identical wins of 36-17 over Zambia with Dennis Mwanja’s charges, registering a bonus point victory with four tries which puts them at the top of the table on five points.
At stake is a promotion to Group A, where the winner will face South Africa and Namibia next year and have a chance to qualify for the inaugural women’s World 15’s competition in 2023.
Mwanja said he expects consistent phase play from his charges. “We also did not have consistency in our phase play. The girls were bullied physically and their body position was off. The ball also didn’t flow in the back line,” he noted.
The former Kenya Sevens international said despite the win over Zambia, there is still room for improvement in all facets of play.
“We didn’t start off as we expected against Zambia. We played in the wrong territory and we were not kicking tactically. We generally did not use our opportunities well.”
The KCB assistant coach expects a stern test from the hosts with bragging rights on the line in what is expected to be a tough clash.
“As we head into the Uganda game, we have adjusted our set pieces and have got clarity in our attacking and defensive structure. We’ve also addressed the issue of getting the backs more involved in the game and we expect all 15 starters to hit the ground running.”
He added: “The whole team will be ready to step up, correct our set pieces, improve our strike rate, play in the right zones and build consistency in phase play by being able to string more than five phases.”
Mwanja observed the pressure will be on the Ugandans as they are playing at home. “The Ugandans are at home and the pressure on them is huge. So the key focus will be to start the game and silence the home crowd,” said Mwanja.
Elsewhere, Impala Floodlit champions KCB face Quins in a rescheduled quarterfinal tie on Wednesday at the Impala Club. Hosts Impala and Nondies will also face off. Both matches were due to be played on Saturday but were rescheduled to today due to a power failure. The entry fee will be free.
